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COEHUGHT DEPOSIT. 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 




IRVIN S. COBB STANDING BESIDE 
CHIEF PADUKE'S STATUE 



Paducahans in History 



BY 
FRED G. NEUMAN 

AUTHOR OF 
"STORY OF PADUCAH" 



PADUCAH, KENTUCKY 

YOUNG PRINTING COMPANY 

1922 






Copyright, 1922, By 
FRED G. NEUMAN 



0CTi2'2l 

©CUe8B250 



TO MY PARENTS: 

THEY ARE NOT LIKE ANY OTHER OF ALL 
MY FRIENDS. THEY STAND ALONE. 



PREFACE 

The history of Paducah links itself with the lives of its native 
or adopted sons and daughters whose names shine upon the local, 
State and National page. As soldier, statesman and author their 
work grows brighter with the years, inspiring the young and 
stimulating the old. On the battle field they gave themselves, as 
statesmen they were the people's tribunes, as authors they con- 
tributed richly to the treasure-house of literature. Unostentatiously 
they shared honors with the greatest, drank freely from the cup 
of success; then the chaplet of laurel was thrown aside, the trump 
of fame disregarded. In all that v/as done they reckoned themselves 
as secondary in the achievement of a purpose, and this self- 
effacement prompted in no small measure the investigations 
revealed by these sidelights. 

More than a hundred friends are due thanks for courtesies 
extended while the chapters were in preparation. Dr. E. B. Curd 
of Hazel, and Captain William T. Rigby of the Vicksburg National 
Military Park Commission were exceedingly kind in supplying 
valuable data. Captain T. B. Fauntleroy of Kevil, and Captain 
Edwin P. Farley of Paducah ansv/ered inquiries that resulted in 
the presentation of new matter. Miss Harriett Boswell of the 
Paducah Carnegie Library, and the assistant librarians, very 
generously offered the volumes of that institution for research. 
Judge E. W. Bagby of Paducah was frequently consulted, his wide 
reading and personal knowledge of the subjects discussed proving 
exceptionally advantageous. Mr. W. G. McFadden of Paducah made 
possible the reproduction of several rare pictures which had never 
been in print. 

Particular thanks are due Mr. V. Blaine Russell for reading 
manuscript and proof, and offering suggestions. Without his 
sympathetic assistance the pen portraits would have lacked far less 
color and the events of their time lost much of the interest they 
might possibly contain. 

The preparation of the book has been a pleasure and if by it 
the life or deeds of any subject are illumined the writing has not 
been in vain. 

FRED G. NEUMAN. 

Paducah. Ky., August 15, 1922. 



CONTENTS 

Page 
CHAPTER I 
CHIEF PADUKE AND HIS PEACEFUL INDIAN TRIBE 15 

CHAPTER n 
HON. LINN BOYD AND HIS NOTED CAREER 27 

CHAPTER HI 
GEN. LLOYD TILGHMAN AND HIS DASHING BRAVERY___ 35 

CHAPTER IV 

COLONEL ALBERT P. THOMPSON AND THE BATTLE 

OF PADUCAH 55 

CHAPTER V 
"OLD JUDGE PRIEST" AND HIS NOBLE CHARACTERISTICS 73 

CHAPTER VI 

IRVIN S. COBB AND HIS TEACHERS AND OLD SCHOOL 

DAYS 79 

CHAPTER VII 

PADUCAH'S MAYORS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS 97 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

CHAPTER I 

CHIEF PADUKE AND HIS PEACEFUL 
INDIAN TRIBE 

MAJESTICALLY seated on a carved rock, his proud 
head up as if sitting in council with his sagamores, 
the right hand holding a shield in upright position and 
the left arm resting upon it, exposure of leg, arm and 
back muscle giving mute but unmistakable evidence 
of perfect physique and mighty strength, the statue of 
Chief Paduke is a fit representation of the Herculean 
Indian after whom Paducah was named. The monument 
is conspicuously located at the northwest corner of Fifth 
and Broadway in full view of thousands who daily cross 
the busy intersection on errands of business and pleasure. 
How many pause in their thoughts of more modern 
things to ponder over the why and wherefore of the 
carved stone? 

The red man in Western Kentucky was originally 
of the Chickasaw tribe, but later became known as a 
member of the Padouca or Padoucah clan. Still later 
or shortly before the town of Pekin was founded the 
spelling was changed and the Indians in that section of 
Kentucky lying west of the Tennessee river were known 
as the Paducahs — a kindly family of red men whose 
past, so far as can be learned, is without blemish in that 
they were free from the customary bloodshed frequently 
attributed to the aboriginal race. They roamed the 
territory with all the freedom that was theirs. 

The country was densely thicketed with forests of 
sycamore, walnut, hickory, oak and birch. The squirrel 
made these his place of retreat and the sagacious fox 
and raccoon looked from within. Around the trees the 
fleet deer trod, the fox scurried, the wolf howled ; the 

15 



16 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

black bear roamed the canebrake or reconnoitred 

through the forests in search of bee trees, and the 

muskrat swam noiselessly in the creeks and rivers. The 

snipe let forth his shrill call in the marshes, the mocking 

bird whistled from the thorn tree, the noisy blue jay 

scolded the robin for his cheerfulness, and the comely 

partridge answered his mate in the broom sedge on the 

hillside. The forests are still standing along Island 

Creek, but the intrusion of civilization has long since 

driven the wolf, bear and deer from the scene. The 

mocking bird still whistles, the jack snipe still wades in 

the bogs, and the blue jay and robin quarrel as 

vehemently as ever in the woodland, but the noble red 

man is gone forever — gone to the Happy Hunting 

Ground — where he will never be molested in his pursuit 

of primitive happiness, where his every arrow finds its 

mark. 

PURCHASE DISTRICT CHANGES HANDS 

Jackson's Purchase in West Kentucky is composed 
of Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Graves, Fulton, Hickman, 
Marshall and McCracken counties, embracing an area 
of more than 2,100 square miles or approximately 
1,344,000 acres. The vast area for which General 
Andrew Jackson and Governor Isaac Shelby of Kentucky 
negotiated in reality includes twenty counties in western 
Tennessee with an area three times as great as that in 
Kentucky, but in recent years the appellation has come 
to be used only in connection with the territory in 
western Kentucky. It is even now rarely called 
Jackson's Purchase, euphony of expression and an equal 
meaning simply designating it "The Purchase." 

Linn Boyd, then less than eighteen years old, was a 
member of the commission which dealt with the 
Chickasaws. 

The vast domain was purchased from the Chickasaw 
Indians of which the Paducahs were a part, the sale 
having been effected October 18, 1818. "The stipula- 
tions of this treaty," says Albion H. Bedford in "The 
History of Methodism in Kentucky" (Vol, 2, page 494), 
"were made in Monroe County, Mississippi, on the banks 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 17 

of the Tombigbee, on the road between Aberdeen and 
Cotton Gin, about ten miles from the former place, 
under a magnificent oak whose branches shaded General 
Jackson and his staff, and Chinnubby and his chiefs." 

Among the Paducah Indians occupying The Purchase 
territory in western Kentucky there was one influential, 
dominant character. That distinctive personality was 
Chief Paduke — tall and massive, of perfect physique 
and generous spirit — an altogether unique and extra- 
ordinary individuality to come from a nomadic tribe. 
Belonging to a race of people noted for morose ways 
and superstitious deeds, he was yet of a comparatively 
cheerful mood and always when he smiled it bore a 
benevolent aspect. The responsibilities of a tribal chief 
naturally tend to repress the active spirit of the leader, 
but the firm step and graceful air of the Paducah 
chieftain betrayed nothing seriously grave — he was 
ever easy and agreeable, though not familiar. He was 
far and away the ablest red man in the district. 

Chief Paduke possessed all the cunning and conceal- 
ment developed by life in the wilderness. Deceiving 
creatures that once inhabited the area upon which the 
city of Paducah now stands, he could imitate the gobble 
of the wild turkey, lure the bird by resonant whistle, 
and lead into error the wolf by a bark that resounded 
through the woods. His olfactory nerves were tuned 
like those of the bloodhound so that he could follow a 
trail with ease. With his tribe he depended principally 
upon wild animals for food, and remarkable was the 
skill he developed with his crude bow and arrow and 
other instruments in bringing down the birds and 
animals which darted here and there. 

His method of tilling the soil was of the most 
primitive manner and save for the Indian corn which 
he grew on what is now the east side of South Third 
Street, just north of the grove where his wigwam stood. 
Chief Paduke and his sturdy tribe depended almost 
wholly on the flesh of wild animals and fish for food 
supply. Berries were eagerly sought during the summer 
months, but these were of no great sustaining power, and 



18 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

when in season they often gathered the paw-paw, nuts, 
wild grapes and other wild products of the forest in 
the desire for a change in food. 

THEIR MAIN HUNTING GROUNDS 

His favorite expeditionary sites included the banks 
of Clark's river near where it flows into the Tennessee, 
where wild animals were particularly abundant. Even 
now the hillsides in the vicinity give evidence of the 
Indian deer chase, an arrowhead or tomahawk occasion- 
ally being found by boys roaming the fields or farmers 
tilling the land. The finding of Indian relics in other 
parts of McCracken county point the spots the Paducahs 
chose especially to roam, while several places within 
the corporate limits of Paducah reveal evidences of the 
red man's wanderings. 

Gooseneck Hill, a few hundred feet south from the 
foot of South Tenth street, across the hollow, was an 
elevation preferred above all others save the grove 
where Chief Paduke's tent stood, owing to its strategic 
location and commanding outlook. Whether the Indians 
under their tribal head built the narrow neck which 
originally connected the hill proper with the western 
level of the ground is not known, for nature might have 
formed the slender and advantageous protrusion. 
But certainly the Paducahs recognized the impregna- 
bility of its position and formation, for until about 
twenty-five years ago when boys carried many relics 
from its crest, the hill was a treasure-house of Indian 
memorials. The stem of Gooseneck Hill has been partly 
removed in recent years by excavation and use of the 
clay for the manufacture of brick. In the process of 
digging a fragment of some crude Indian object is 
sometimes unearthed. 

Another spot associated with the Paducahs is what 
is known as Graveyard Hill, a ridge 200 feet long 
situated a hundred yards southeast of the Franklin 
school building on South Sixth street. The seasonal 
rains have almost leveled the fourteen mounds that 
formerly rested on Graveyard Hill, and a lumber yard 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 19 

to the north of it has covered many signs and 
relics of the days when Chief Paduke was the wise 
sachem of his tribe. The arrowheads and flint rocks 
gathered there in years past would make an interesting 
collection. Several mounds were also located imme- 
diately back of the school under the stately paradise 
trees that stand so erect there. 

WHITE MEN VISIT THE PURCHASE 

But the principal camping ground of the Paducah 
tribe was located on the east side of South Third street, 
extending from Caldwell street to the mouth of Island 
Creek. A grove extended south from halfway between 
Caldwell and Husbands streets for a distance of four 
hundred feet, at the north end of which Chief Paduke 
had his wigwam. From their camping grounds the 
Indians could see the Tennessee river below and the 
broad Ohio in the distance. Island Creek was nearby, 
and it afforded unusual opportunity for the hunting of 
many animals which came there for drink. The bottoms 
were an almost impassable thicket during the Indian 
days, but the country was beautiful as a whole and the 
red men were content until white intruders ventured 
into the territory. 

A section of what is known as The Purchase was 
given General George Rogers Clark shortly after the 
American Revolution for his services against the British 
at Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and other points. The 
Government presented the brave soldier with two 
tracts of land by patents bearing date of September 15, 
1795, aggregating 73,362 acres. McCracken county 
embraced 36,400 acres of this gratuity, which General 
George Rogers Clark, in 1803, conveyed to his youngest 
brother General William Clark. On his way down the 
Ohio river with a band of one hundred and thirty-five 
picked riflemen. General George Rogers Clark landed 
at Owen's Island on the 28th of June, 1778, crossing the 
Tennessee river and stepping upon what in 1792 became 
the State of Kentucky. He and his party came ashore 
at the foot of what is now Kentucky Avenue, where a 



20 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

marker reads: "At the foot of this street General George 
Rogers Clark and his followers landed in 1778 on their 
way to Fort Massac, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes." 

Before the sale of The Purchase in 1818, the Paducah 
Indians experienced no particular inconvenience or 
molestation save occasional excursions into their hunt- 
ing ground by white men. They did not strenuously 
object to the pale faces so long as they came and went, 
for when Captain Nicholas J. Roosevelt ran the first 
steamboat down the Ohio river he landed at the little 
clearing at the foot of what is now Broadway and 
successfully bargained with the Paducahs for fuel. The 
steamer was the New Orleans. In exchange for wood 
which the red men kept stored on top of the hill, Captain 
Roosevelt gave several strings of beads, a number of 
gaudy calicoes and a few other cheap articles. There 
is no record of the Paducahs ever having resisted ad- 
vances of white adventurers in McCracken county or 
territory adjacent. 

Yet with the acquisition of The Purchase territory the 
Paducahs, living up to their traditional peaceful 
character, began to evacuate, the tribe under leadership 
of Chief Paduke migrating to Mississippi. Members of 
the white race, who learn to dearly love the cottage or 
the mansion which they respectively call home, can well 
imagine the heart aches that must have assailed this 
peaceful little tribe as they pushed their canoes into the 
broad Ohio, leaving the land which they had occupied 
so long and so happily, and which their ancestors before 
them had inhabited ; going to a new hunting ground, 
only to be eventually pushed from that, and all succeed- 
ing places of abode until the final departure to the 
happiest one of all. The white man, in his desire to 
accomplish his own ends and acquire lands, wealth and 
comfort, no doubt often was thoughtless of the fact that 
even an aborigine can have a heart which loves with 
as much fiery passion as his white brother's, even though 
the Indian does not make the outward show of affection 
that the pale face does. 

After settling in Mississippi the friendly Chief was 
advised of a visit General William Clark was to make 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 21 

to the now deserted camping ground, which was known 
as Pekin. Chief Paduke learned that the visit would 
occur in the summer of 1819, and he proposed meeting 
the General where he had lived for half a century. In 
company with the Chief, ninety braves in canoes paddled 
up the Mississippi river and then into the Ohio to the 
clearing at Pekin. General Clark had already arrived 
when the Indian band reached the place, and he con- 
sidered the personal greeting the greatest compliment 
ever paid a white man by an Indian chief. 

NAME SITE FOR CHIEF PADUKE 

In warfare, no people are more treacherous than the 
red race. Hiding behind trees and bushes, their arrows 
strike an enemy without warning, for to them all is fair 
in war. But in time of peace, the Indian is the friendliest 
of men, even sacrificing his life for a white friend. Once 
the confidence of the red man is gained, he shares all 
he has for the white stranger within his gates, nor asks 
rewaid for the kindness. 

Strangely enough, the open space at the confluence 
of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers was changed in name 
from Pekin to Paducah by General William Clark, 
whose appreciation of Chief Paduke's display of friend- 
liness suggested his naming the place after the noble 
Indian. General Clark felt he could honor the Chief 
in no better way than by calling the old camping 
grounds after him, for the Chief's unusual tribute must 
be repaid in an unusual way. 

The party of Paducahs remained at the clearing 
more than ten days, entering their canoes on the return 
to the Mississippi settlement in the early part of June. 
They had hardly started when Chief Paduke suffered 
an attack of malaria, marked by a chill and followed 
by a high fever. The party paddled to the Kentucky 
shore a few miles above where the Ohio river empties 
into the Mississippi, and members procured medicinal 
plants in an effort to stay the rising fever. These 
vegetable compounds were faithfully administered, but 
all efforts to save his life were unavailing and the 



22 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

veteran Chieftain died, a victim of the febrile disease. 
The remains were brought to Paducah out of sentiment, 
the small band deciding Chief Paduke should be buried 
at the place where he lived and which had been named 
in his honor. 

BURIED WHERE WIGWAM STOOD 

Arriving at Paducah with the body, more than a 
score of Indians still lingering in the surrounding 
territory came for the burial. Interment was under a 
large sycamore tree in the royal grove whose branches 
had protected Chief Paduke's wigwam for many years. 
Laying the body upon the surface of the ground and 
solemnly exercising the religious rites incidental to the 
burial of a leader among his tribe, the highest honors 
were paid him and the remains then covered with the 
sod he had once owned and ruled over. The little band 
of Paducah Indians hewed logs and placed them around 
the grave, the mound of which could be seen long after 
the crude timber gave way to the elements. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Smedley, now eighty-nine years old 
and the oldest living native resident, recalls Chief 
Paduke's grave in an interesting way. In 1843, when 
she was ten years old, the spot was clearly evident. "We 
children had weird thoughts as we approached the 
burial spot several blocks north of the creek," Mrs. 
Smedley says. "Third street was but a narrow road 
then which led past the hill, the scene being a slight 
eminence filling us with superstitious fears. We thought 
the place was haunted and in our childish vision 
often imagined we saw Chief Paduke's spirit or ghost- 
like appearance." 

A marker one hundred and fifty feet north of 
Husbands street and in the sidewalk on the east side of 
South Third street determines the spot where Chief 
Paduke was buried. The marker, a concrete tablet set 
with brass letters, was placed there in the spring of 
1915, at the suggestion of the late Dr. D. G. Murrell, 
and reads: "Two hundred feet east of this spot was 
buried the Indian Chief Paduke, in 1819, for whom the 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 23 

city was named." In the early part of April, 1874, an 
effort was made to find the remains of the beloved 
Chief but nothing could be found. Fifty-five years had 
then elapsed since he was buried and it is possible the 
chemical processes of the soil obliterated any trace of 
his mortal being. 

STATUE ERECTED IN MEMORY 

At the suggestion of Mrs. Eli G. Boone a striking 
likeness of Chief Paduke was chiseled from stone by 
Lorado Taft of Chicago, a nationally famous sculptor, 
and was unveiled at the northwest corner of Fifth and 
Broadway on the 19th of May, 1909. Mrs. Boone was 
regent of the Paducah Chapter Daughters of the 
American Revolution at the time, and it was through 
her efforts and the untiring work of the members of 
that organization that the fountain-statue was presented 
to the City of Paducah. The monument represents an 
expenditure of $3,000 including cost of erection, all of 
which was donated by the Paducah Daughters to further 
perpetuate memory of the Indian Chief. 

More than five thousand people crowded near the 
intersection of Fifth and Broadway on the Wednesday 
afternoon when the memorial was uncovered, exposing 
in sitting posture the mighty form clad only in a blanket 
thrown about the loins. With the falling of the covering 
tumultuous applause began and the granite figure be- 
came the cynosure of the great assemblage. The honor 
of drawing the first cup of water from the fountain fell 
to Miss Helen Pulliam, now Mrs. Harold Williamson, 
who presented the sparkling fluid to Mayor James P. 
Smith. The exercises were then adjourned to the old 
Kentucky Theater, which until 1922 occupied the 
building since converted into a vaudeville playhouse. 
Presiding in the absence of Mrs. Boone who was called 
away from the city shortly before the ceremonies, Mr. 
Eli G. Boone introduced Mr. Taft, Mayor Smith, Captain 
Saunders A. Fowler and Honorable Charles K. Wheeler 
as speakers for the occasion. 

A notable event in connection with Home-Coming 
Week held in Paducah from May 19 to 24, 1913, was the 



24 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

impersonation of Chief Paduke. The old warrior had 
been absent from the once famous hunting grounds for 
ninety-five years, and his return had been anticipated 
no less keenly by the residents of the city than by 
approximately five thousand visiting revellers. On 
Tuesday, the second evening of the festivities, the 
steamer G. W. Robertson, bearing Chief Paduke in the 
person of James G. Wheeler decked in paint and 
feathers, neared the Paducah harbor amid the shrieking 
of factory whistles and reverberation of a roaring cannon 
on the river front. Hundreds of people crowded the 
levee. 

The steamer docked at 7:45 o'clock and the Chief 
and his party came ashore greeted by thunderous ap- 
plause. Mounting his white steed, he started west 
on Broadway, followed by Miss Adine Corbett as 
the princess on a handsome float accompanied by the 
maids of honor. Miss Ruth Hinkle and Miss Bertha 
Ferguson. Dismounting at Fifth and Broadway where 
a speaker's stand had been erected on the side of Chief 
Paduke's statue, the old warrior approached the plat- 
form around which approximately fifteen thousand 
people surged. Mayor Thomas N. Hazelip motioned 
for the crowd to cease tooting horns and the noise 
abated. 

Welcoming Chief Paduke to the city which now stood 
where he reigned so contentedly years ago, the Mayor 
expressed the pleasure experienced in having him return. 
He concluded his address by saying, "Take Paducah; 
it is yours." 

It was a dramatic moment when Chief Paduke 
stepped forward. His dry eyes seemed to have 
whole Niagaras of tears stored up behind them. His 
mind was filled with recollections of another day, a day 
long since past but which hung in memory like a picture 
on the wall. He spoke with feeling and evidenced 
great emotion. The old wigwam, it was there — in 
memory; and the hills and valleys — how they had 
metamorphosed into level residential sections and busy 
marts of trade! How the place had changed! He 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 25 

marvelled at it all, and wondered if it might be a dream, 
an imagination. His reference to the old Indian days 
when the Paducahs wandered in their earthly paradise 
and chased the deer here, the fox there — ah! it was 
pathetic, almost heart-breaking. 

Then he spoke of the wonderful progress made by 
the City of Paducah. At length he confined himself to 
a gracious appreciation for the magnificent reception he 
had received. And amid a joyful spirit unparalleled in 
the history of the city which was named after him. 
Chief Paduke concluded his address happily and joined 
in the gay festivities. 

The shade then disappeared. 




HON. LINN BOYD 

From a miniature now in possession of his grandson, 
Mr. Linn Boyd, Paducah, Ky. 



26 



CHAPTER II 

HON. LINN BOYD AND HIS 
NOTED CAREER 

SHADED by a huge cedar tree and inconspicuously 
marked by a simple Italian spire monument whose 
height suggests no parting of the skies, one of the most 
distinguished personages in Oak Grove cemetery sleeps 
his last long sleep almost unknown to the racing, 
mercenary-bent generations of today, and seemingly 
forgotten save by relatives and students of the dim past. 
An eight-foot shaft, in front of which rests all that 
was mortal of Hon. Linn Boyd, points the spot where in 
years now gone stood hatless young men experiencing 
the tenseness of a real thrill ; in the presence of great 
men the young hea.rt expands and ambitirn takes fire.. 
Casually glancing at the sacred, weather-beaten spire 
one would hardly think "Here lies Linn Boyd". 

Entering Oak Grove cemetery through the arch at 
the east, that person wishing to spend a few moments 
in solemnity and quiet contemplation finds himself 
surrounded by a vast array of imposing marble shafts. 
These modern and expensive monuments tell of men 
who have had a more recent existence and whose 
victorious battles were fought in commercial marts and 
not in the turbulent political arena. Do not look for 
Linn Boyd's grave here, for you will not find it. When 
this man's body was consigned to its last resting place. 
Oak Grove was not nearly so large and the burying 
ground was farther to the west; or in other words, back 
of what is now known as the cemetery proper. Pass this 
rich and costly marble, if you wish to glimpse the grave 
of the famous Kentuckian. 

Do you see that sighing, melancholy cedar? The 
modest granite shaft is scarcely visible from any distance, 
but under that tree reposes the former Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, the distinguished 



28 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Paducahan who at one time was prominently mentioned 
for the presidency of the United States. Stroll yet 
awhile and leave the well-kept part of the burying 
ground in the rear, slowly approaching the grass-covered 
and unkempt portion where low moss-covered slabs peep 
out of the tangled grass and creeping myrtle and briars. 
The unpretentious and faded obelisk does scant honor to 
the mortal remains of one of the most noted citizens in 
the silent city. The inscription is short, telling only of 
the noted man's birth and death. The elements and 
years have dared efface these, the speeding seasons 
leaving the lettering almost unintelligible. 

BORN IN NASHVILLE 

Hon. Linn Boyd was born in Nashville, Tenn., 
November 22, 1800. His father, Abraham Boyd, joined 
the Revolutionary patriots in South Carolina at the age 
of sixteen, crossing the mountains into Tennessee after 
the War of Independence and locating in Nashville. The 
father was a native Virginian by birth, but in early life 
his family removed to North Carolina. When Linn Boyd 
was two years old, his parents came to Christian (now 
Trigg) county, Kentucky, settling on the east bank of 
the Cumberland river. Here the elder Boyd died, and 
here young Linn Boyd grew to manhood. 

His educational advantages were limited to brief 
elementary studies, but he was a boy of character and 
native ability — gifts and traits that served him well in 
later years in the absence of the opportunities afforded 
through schooling. He was a voracious reader, assimilat- 
ing easily what he read by dint of a strong memory and 
of serious reflection, and soon developed the faculty of 
making the most of what he knew by clear, vigorous, 
affluent and impressive utterance. 

GOES TO LOWER HOUSE 

His first public service was rendered when he was 
seventeen years of age. As a co-worker with Andrew 
Jackson, young Boyd was sent as a commissioner of the 
United States to treat with the Chickasaw Indians for 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 29 

their valuable domain lying south of the Ohio and east 
of the Mississippi rivers. 

The Tennessee river separates Trigg county from 
Calloway, and in 1826 Linn Boyd left the parental roof 
and located in the county across the river, boldly en- 
gaging in politics there and at once making himself 
known as the foremost figure in discussions relative to 
the appropriations and settlement of the surrounding 
land; he pushed its virtues, expounding to great effect 
the qualities of the land and its possibilities. So rapidly 
and completely did he gain the confidence of the people 
scattered over four large counties, that in 1827 he was 
sent to the legislature by a handsome majority over 
Judge James, a very influential citizen who had been 
honored by that office for twenty years. 

He represented the First district for three sessions or 
until 1830, and it is an interesting incident that during 
this time his father was for two sessions spokesman for 
Trigg county. Linn Boyd was one of the members of 
the lower branch of the legislature who brought forward 
the provision granting the actual settlers possession of 
their homes at one-half the sum required of others. By 
this stroke of statesmanship the foresters remained un- 
molested by insatiate land jobbers. 

YEARNS FOR SIMPLE LIFE 

In 1830 the young statesman returned to his paternal 
roof in Trigg county, where a year later he was again 
elected to the legislature, this time by the largest 
majority ever polled in the county. A year after the 
magnificent tribute was paid him, Mr. Boyd announced 
his desire to return the commission and retire to private 
life on his 130-acre farm. And shortly after his marriage 
to Miss Alice C. Bennett, a Virginia lady of exquisite 
charm and beauty then residing in his county, he chose 
the simple farm life as a means of livelihood. 

Hardly had he settled to the quiet life when friends 
importuned him to run for the congressional seat against 
the incumbent, Col. C. Lyon. He reluctantly consented, 
and in the finals was beaten by a small margin. He ran 



30 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

again in 1835 and was triumphantly elected, serving with 
honor and distinction. By reason of long and unbroken 
family friendship and concurrence in general views and 
principles he became identified with the administration 
of President Jackson. Then it was that Mr. Boyd truly 
entered the arena of national politics and started on his 
illustrious career which terminated only with death. 

At the time Mr. Boyd entered Congress the freedom 
of the people was greatly reduced from various forms of 
oppression and tyranny and all was chaos and dis- 
content; liberties and right of speech were vouchsafed 
by the Constitution, true enough, but these sacred 
possessions were in constant jeopardy. His stand for 
right and justice was again rewarded when in 1839 he 
was returned to his congressional seat by an overwhelm- 
ing majority. He was re-elected in 1841 and in 1843, 
while in 1845 he was returned to Washington without 
opposition. Two years later he was re-elected to the 
House by a majority of 3,200, and in 1849 his un- 
blemished record was again so clearly recognized and 
approved by his constituency that for the second time 
he was returned to his seat without opposition. In a 
three-cornered contest in 1851, against two well-known 
aspirants, Mr. Boyd led the field by the astonishing 
majority of 2,900. 

In the spring of 1848 he was chosen Democratic 
candidate for governor of Kentucky. The State Demo- 
cratic Convention meeting at Frankfort selected him, and 
being advised of its action he addressed a letter to the 
chairman of the State Central Committee (Hon. James 
Guthrie), formally declining the candidacy. Hon. 
Lazarus W. Powell was then chosen. 

POPULAR IN CONGRESS 

As a congressman and statesman, Hon. Linn Boyd 
was foremost in shaping and directing all the great 
questions that agitated the country during his time. The 
greatest laurel leaf in his crown of honors, however, was 
his election to the speakership of the House of Represen- 
tatives, a position he held from 1851 to 1855. With the 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 31 

exception of Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel 
Webster, perhaps no man served more successfully in 
the days of this triumvirate than Mr. Boyd. He was 
elected to Congress eight times successively from the 
First district, known in the early days of the country as 
Jackson's Purchase. The great Calhoun had just passed 
away in March, 1850, when a year later Mr. Boyd was 
chosen Speaker of the House, and he was serving in this 
capacity when Clay and Webster died in 1852. Clay 
knew the worth and integrity of Linn Boyd, as did 
Calhoun and Webster. 

HIS POPULARITY CONTINUES 

Hon. Linn Boyd was still the most popular man 
in the state when he returned to his home in Paducah, 
where he had moved from Trigg County. The 
retiring Speaker was prominently mentioned for the 
highest office within the gift of the American people, 
the Boyd boom being at its height in September, 1855. 
In 1859 he was elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky 
on the ticket with Beriah Magoffin, without any effort 
on his part. However, he was not permitted to enter 
upon the duties of this last office, for he died in Paducah, 
Saturday evening, December 17, of the same year. He 
was mentally alert when at the age of 59 he met the 
courier as the tired sentry meets the relief. His death 
occasioned state and national sorrow. 

Mr. Boyd was twice married. His second wife was 
Mrs. Anna L. Dixon, a daughter of James Rhey of 
Cambria county, Pennsylvania. She was a woman of 
culture and wide reading, and was a cousin of Millard 
Fillmore, and at one time during his administration was 
mistress of the White House and the "leading lady of 
the land." Rhey Boyd, a son, was born to this couple 
in Paducah, April 14, 1853, and he occupies a grave on 
the same lot beside his illustrious father, having died 
September 30, 1895. 

Neither of Linn Boyd's consorts sleep in Oak Grove, 
his first wife having been buried at Murray while the 
remains of his second life's companion were taken to 



32 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

her old home in Pennsylvania and interred beside those 
of her parents. His second wife died in 1894. 

Mr. Boyd never served as Secretary of State under 
President Buchanan with the beginning of Buchanan's 
administration in 1857, as is popularly supposed. A 
tablet on the south side of Broadway near Eighteenth 
street determines his place of residence and erroneously 
imparts this information, reading: "Three hundred feet 
south of this tablet lived and died Hon. Linn Boyd, 
Secretary of State under President Buchanan." 

Mr. Boyd returned to Paducah following retirement 
from the House of Representatives of which he was 
chairman, in 1855. Two years before, or in 1853, he had 
erected the present home of his grandson and namesake 
at 1710 Kentucky Avenue. The house is a two-story 
brick now painted a stone gray. It is splendidly 
preserved and in outward appearance recalls the 
Colonial period. The interior is strikingly beautiful, 
the large rooms and high ceilings lending a rich rareness 
and benign comfort. The ballustrade near the front 
entrance is of solid mahogany, and it was necessary for 
an expert woodworker to come on horseback from 
Pennsylvania to build the attractive stairway. The 
massive oaks surrounding the old homestead were 
planted by the former Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives about six years before his death. 

END COMES IN PADUCAH 

Following an illness of Bright's disease which began 
during his last year at Washington, Mr. Boyd died at 
his home in Paducah, December 17, 1859, at 8 o'clock. 
His remains were interred in the then most prominent 
section of Oak Grove cemetery and a pyramidal shaft 
placed at the head of the grave. The couch has ever 
been green and above it feathered songsters have for 
many years sung their sweetest notes. 

Handsome in appearance and pleasing in manner, 
smooth-shaven and possessing snow-white hair since he 
was thirty; dignified, yet unassuming, Hon. Linn Boyd 
was one of the most positive forces in the American 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 33 

capital during his stay in Congress. He was of great 
physique, towering six feet four inches and weighing 
220 pounds. The eyes were of heaven's own blue. A 
fact not generally known is that Boyd county is named 
after the Paducahan. 

**He was a gentleman whose unusually quiescent 
course challenged but little of public observation," says 
Wheeler's "History of Congress" (Vol. 1, page 105), 
"but whose influence over his party in regard to some 
of the most important measures of its policy was less 
exemplified in manner no less signal than compli- 
mentary. He seemed to possess an unpretending faculty 
of uniting discordant opinions and concentrating them 
upon a general result not surpassed by that of any 
member in the Democratic party." 

In the "Biographical Sketch of Hon. Lazarus W. 
Powell," governor of Kentucky from 1851 to 1855, the 
following tribute to Linn Boyd appears on page 39 : "His 
influence in Western Kentucky was paramount and in 
the national Congress he was universally regarded as 
the leader of his political associates. He was a man of 
acknowledged patriotism and exalted character." 

It is related that a more pathetic scene was never 
witnessed anywhere than in Oak Grove cemetery on the 
occasion of the last visit of Hon. Roger Q. Mills to his old 
home, which was in Todd county, Kentucky. The old 
Civil War veteran and Senator made a special visit to 
Paducah to take a farewell look at the grave of the 
former Speaker. For some time he stood with un- 
covered head in reverential homage by the side of Boyd. 
It is said that as the great Texan talked of the deeds of 
the man who slept beneath, tears flowed down his cheeks. 

Roger Q. Mills was just verging into manhood when 
Linn Boyd's career was drawing to its close. He knew 
him and was well acquainted with his work and the 
honors that his State had showered upon him. And he 
remarked as he gazed at the time-worn marble shaft 
that the State of Kentucky owed it to the memory of 
Linn Boyd to erect a more imposing monument over his 
last resting place. 




GENERAL LLOYD TILGHMAN 

From an enlargement owned by Mr. T. Boswell Jones, Paducah, Ky. 



CHAPTER III 

GENERAL LLOYD TILGHMAN AND HIS 
DASHING BRAVERY 

SURMOUNTING a massive stone structure and visible 
from four directions a mile distant, the most 
imposing monument in West Kentucky stands in Lang 
Park on Fountain Avenue between Madison and 
Harrison streets abutting Monroe. The huge cenotaph 
is in memory of Gen. Lloyd Tilghman, a Paducahan who 
left the city with the beginning of the Civil War and who 
never returned. He was killed in battle at the age of 
forty-seven. 

General Tilghman came from a family whose ances- 
tors were prominently identified with early American 
history. The genealogy of the Tilghmans can be traced 
back to the middle of the seventeenth century, or to 1659, 
when Dr. Richard Tilghman, an eminent surgeon and 
direct descendant of the great Duke, John of Gaunt, left 
London for the American colonies. 

He obtained from the first Lord Baltimore a grant 
of 400 acres of land in the colony of Maryland and in 
1660 built Tilghman's Hermitage on the Chesapeake 
Bay. After a lapse of more than 250 years a part of 
the original building is still in excellent condition. A 
rose vine of half a century's luxuriant growth clings to 
the original English bricks which antedate it by some 
200 years. 

Dr. Richard Tilghman, its builder, known in history 
as The Emigrant, still lies within sight of its walls; and 
his grave, the nucleus of the resting place of seven 
generations of those that bore his name, may be identi- 
fied at once by the bronze plate on which is repeated the 
epitaph that time and weather are slowly obliterating 
from the flat grave stone. In the olden days the burial 
grounds were always close to the houses so that the 
graves might be the better guarded against Indian visits 



36 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

and roving wolves. General Tilghman was born here 
at "Rich Neck Manor," near Claiborne, in Talbott 
County, Eastern Shore Maryland, the only son and the 
oldest of four children. 

HAD FINE ANCESTRY 

The great-great-grandfather of General Tilghman 
was Tench Francis Tilghman who died August 14, 1758, 
and who was Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 
1744 to 1752. On December 29, 1724, he was married to 
Miss Elizabeth Turbutt, and their daughter Anne at the 
age of sixteen became the bride of James Tilghman, a 
member of Penn's Provincial Council of 1767. His 
brother, Hon. Matthew Tilghman was for half a century, 
from 1740 to 1790, one of the most prominent figures in 
the political annals of both the Province and the State 
of Maryland, and was justly styled by the historian 
McMahan as "the patriarch of the Maryland Colony," 

Matthew Tilghman was a member of the First Con- 
tinental Congress of 1774, and of those of 1775, 1776 
and 1777. He would have been a signer of the Declara- 
tion of Independence but for the fact that he was called 
to Annapolis in June of that memorable year to preside 
over the convention which framed the first constitution 
of the State of Maryland. 

Miss Henrietta Haria Tilghman, the daughter of 
James and Anne Tilghman, became the wife of her 
cousin. Judge Lloyd Tilghman, January 22, 1785. Their 
son, Hon. James Tilghman, was born February 7, 1793, 
and died five years after General Tilghman was killed 
near Vicksburg. James Tilghman was married to Miss 
Ann Caroline Shoemaker (1797-1872) and their fourth 
child and only son was born January 26, 1816, and 
named in honor of his grandfather, Lloyd Tilghman 
(1749-1811). The. son was destined to serve with dis- 
tinction in two wars. 

Entering the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, July 1, 1831, at the age of fifteen, after attending 
the schools in Baltimore, Lloyd Tilghman was a cadet 
in the army until his graduation July 1, 1836, when he 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 37 

was assigned to the United States Dragoons as an 
additional Second Lieutenant. He was commissioned as 
a Second Lieutenant three days afterward, but resigned 
September 30 to accept the position of civil engineer of 
the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad, which he held 
until 1837. 

He then associated himself as an engineer in the 
survey of the Norfolk and Wilmington Canal for a period 
of one year. In 1838 and 1839 he was engineer for the 
Eastern Shore Railroad, resigning to accept a similar 
position with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in which 
capacity he served for eighteen months, or until the 
latter part of 1840. He superintended public improve- 
ments in Baltimore afterward. 

With the beginning of the Mexican War in 1846, the 
inherited chivalry and martial spirit in his being were 
not to be denied, and spurred by the fresh memories of 
the Alamo and San Jacinto the course of Lloyd Tilghman 
was clear. He was then thirty-two years of age, tall, 
agile, and keen-visioned. He enlisted as a volunteer 
aide-de-camp to Gen. David E. Twiggs and with him went 
to Mexico where he was engaged in the Battle of Palo 
Alto, May 8, 1846, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma 
the next day. 

During June of the same year he superintended the 
erection of defenses at Matamoros, and August 14, 1847, 
he {was made Captain of the Maryland and District of 
Columbia Volunteer Artillery and remained at the head 
of this intrepid organization until it was disbanded on 
the 13th of July, 1848. 

A year later Lloyd Tilghman became principal 
assistant engineer of the Panama division of the Isthmus 
Railroad, and still later was engaged in surVeying and 
superintending the construction of southern railroads, 
one from Paducah to Memphis and another from 
Paducah to the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile. 

He moved his family to Paducah in 1852, and until 
the outbreak of the Civil War resided in what later 
became known as the old Whitefield property at the 
northeast corner of Seventh street and Kentucky Avenue. 



38 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

The two-story brick house in which the Tilghmans 
lived is in fine preservation and still occupied, but it 
is unfortunate that a marker has never been placed in 
the sidewalk in front of the house to indicate the place 
of residence of the distinguished family. 

In 1855-56 General Tilghman was chief engineer of 
the first railroad entering Paducah and the second in 
the State — the New Orleans & Jackson which put in a 
line between Paducah and Trimble, Tenn., passing 
through Mayfield. 

The opening of this railroad brought new possibilities 
in point of growth to Paducah and from the day of its 
entrance proved a decided factor in the upbuilding of 
its commercial life. This line later passed into the hands 
of the Illinois Central Railroad Company. 

Hon. Beriah Magoffin was Governor of Kentucky 
when the Civil War began and had Gen. Simon Bolivar 
Buckner as first in command of the Kentucky State 
Guards, of which Lloyd Tilghman was a member and 
held the rank of Captain. 

The State tried to assume a neutral position in the 
great struggle, and General Buckner and Captain 
Tilghman stayed by the Commonwealth. This position 
was maintained until Federal troops entered the State 
at Paducah. 

COMMANDS THIRD KENTUCKY 

With this invasion the State legislature ordered the 
United States flag hoisted upon the capitol to proclaim 
Kentucky's Union attitude. Thus it became necessary 
for the men to take sides, and General Buckner met with 
Captain Tilghman at the latter's home where they de- 
cided to join the Southern cause and aid it to the extent 
of their power and influence. They were both intensely 
Southern in spirit and there was never any question 
among their friends as to how they would stand when a 
decision became necessary. 

General Tilghman was commanding the Third 
Kentucky Regiment, a splendid body of men well 
equipped and drilled, and armed with the best small 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 39 

arms besides a battery of Brass Napoleons, and he 
entered the Confederate service July 5, 1861, taking his 
whole command with him. 

Among the Paducahans who went were Charles J. 
Jarrett, D. A. Given, W. A. Grief, Joseph Ullman, Dr. 
J. G. Brooks, Thomas J. Fauntleroy, Charles Reed, 
afterwards mayor, and others. Mr. Reed was later 
transferred to General Nathan Bedford Forrest's division 
and was active in the Battle of Paducah. The regiment 
went to Camp Daniel Boone near Clarksville, Tenn., 
where Tilghman was made a Brigadier-General on the 
18th of October, 1861, and where he commanded. 

General Tilghman went from Camp Boone to Hop- 
kinsville, Ky., where he succeeded General Clark in 
drilling and instructing 3,000 men, and from there was 
placed in command of Fort Henry on the Tennessee 
river and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland. 

His first taste of actual hostilities in the Civil War 
and likewise his first opportunity to demonstrate his 
generalship were soon realized, for at 11:40 o'clock on 
the morning of Thursday, February 6, 1862, the Union 
forces had advanced on the breastworks with 16,000 
well-armed men aided by Commodore Andrew H, Foote's 
seven gunboats. General Tilghman was inside the en- 
closure with 2,610 poorly-armed men, having eleven 
medium-size guns in comparison to the fifty-four heavy 
pieces of the Federals. Against such a disadvantage 
in both troops and guns General Tilghman and his 
gallant officers readily realized no tactics or bravery 
could avail, and he thought to retain only the heavy 
artillery company to man the guns and retire the main 
command to Fort Donelson. 

It was clear the meagre forces maintaining both 
forts were unequal to the Federal troops in numbers. It 
was therefore a stroke of wisdom to concentrate the 
small body in defense of the strongest fortification, Fort 
Donelson. 

With less than 100 men General Tilghman remained 
at Fort Henry and fought valiantly for more than two 
hours while the main army escaped detection and 



40 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

reached Fort Donelson with General Buckner. The 
high water around Fort Henry made passage of the 
troops somewhat hazardous and it was with difficulty 
they reached the place of concentration. 

FEDERALS BREACH FORT 

The enemy opened gunboat fire on the fort at 11:45 
o'clock. General Tilghman ordered his men to refrain 
from firing until the effects of the first Federal shots 
could be fully ascertained. The brave little band then 
returned fire. Soon the gunboat Essex was disabled and 
then a second gunboat floated helplessly downstream, 
but meanwhile the brave defenders had been reduced 
in number and at 1:30 o'clock only four of the guns 
were left serviceable. 

Twenty minutes later General Tilghman took charge 
of one of these guns, giving the flagship Cincinnati two 
shots to hinder its movement which was intended to 
enfilade the two guns remaining. 

Now the enemy was already breaching the fort 
directly in front of the guns and not wishing to further 
expose the lives of the men who had so nobly seconded 
him in the unequal struggle, and realizing, too, that the 
main body had been given time enough to permit retreat 
to Fort Donelson, the fort was surrendered as a military 
necessity. 

In his official report of the battle, General Tilghman 
gives the number of commissioned officers surrendered 
at 12 and the non-commissioned officers and privates 
82, including 16 wounded in the hospital-boat Patton. 

DAVIS COMMENDS CONDUCT 

Jefferson Davis in his "Rise and Fall of the Con- 
federacy," comments upon the surrender of Fort Henry 
and says that "for this soldierly devotion and self- 
sacrifice the gallant commander and his brave band 
must be honored while patriotism has an advocate and 
self-sacrifice for others a votary." 

Even more eloquent was the address delivered before 
a Confederate society at Mississippi City, Miss., in 1878, 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 41 

when Mr. Davis paid a touching tribute to the memory 
of the Conferedate officer, 

"The Greek who held the pass, the Roman who for 
a time held the bridge, have been immortalized in rhyme 
and story," he said ; "but neither of those more heroic- 
ally, more patriotically, more singly served his country 
than did Tilghman at Fort Henry, when approached by 
a large army, an army which rendered defense of the 
fort impossible; he, with a handful of devoted followers, 
went into the fort and continued the defense until his 
brigade could retire in safety to Fort Donelson ; then, 
when that work was finished, when it was impossible to 
any longer make a defense, when the wounded and dying 
lay all around him, he, with the surviving remnant of his 
little band, terminated the struggle and suffered in a 
manner thousands who have been prisoners of war know 
how to estimate." 

HE PRESENTS PROBLEM 

The question of proper disposition of General Tilgh- 
man at first proved vexatious. Gen. U. S. Grant sought 
to have the captured officer paroled and confined to the 
limits of Paducah where Col, David Stuart was com- 
manding, and while Maj.-Gen. H. W. Halleck granted 
the proposal, the arrival in Paducah from Fort Henry 
of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and the surrendered 
band on February 15 definitely changed the plan. 

General Grant himself saw the impropriety of keep- 
ing General Tilghman a prisoner in Paducah two days 
after he had expressed such a wish, declaring the 
paroling of the Confederate officer here was "par- 
ticularly objectionable" since it was his home city. 

He was then taken to St. Louis, and General Buckner 
having been made prisoner at Fort Donelson April 16, 
the two captured officers were taken to Fort Warren, 
Boston Harbor. They reached the fort in a heavy snow 
the night of March 3. 

The two Generals were for a while placed in solitary 
confinement, and when this came to the knowledge of 
General Tilghman's mother, who lived in Philadelphia, 




I-I J^ 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 



43 



she went to see Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and 
gained from him permission for her son to walk for one 
hour each day on the ramparts for exercise. When her 
son learned that General Buckner was not included in 
the same privilege, he magnanimously declmed the 

liberty. ^ ,,^ , 

This led to another visit of Mrs. Tilghman to Wash- 
ington, when Mr. Stanton, at her earnest solicitation, 
modified his order so as to include General Buckner in 
the permission to take exercise outside of the casement. 
They were confined in separate apartments and for- 
bidden to write or receive letters from their families or 
friends But the imprisonment was not destined to be 
of long duration for in the following August, after being 
incarcerated for six months, General Tilghman was 
exchanged for General J. F. Reynolds of the United 
States Volunteers. General Buckner was exchanged 
for General G. A. McCall. 

GETS NEW COMMAND 
With his release from the Federal fort, General 
Tilghman together with General Buckner was placed m 
command of 10,000 similarly exchanged Confederate 
prisoners of war at Jackson, Miss. These had to be re- 
organized into companies, regiments and brigades ol 
infantry, cavalry and artillery, and clothed, armed and 
equipped anew. 

This was a prodigious task, a most arduous and per- 
plexing undertaking in view of the extreme difficulty 
of obtaining from the then already impoverished Con- 
federate Government supplies and stores for either 
Quartermaster, Commissary or Ordnance Departments. 
All this required more than ordinary executive ability 
on the part of the commander, which General Tilghman 
happily possessed to a marked degree, for to natural 
ability had been added the thorough training of the 
United States Military Academy broadened by practical 
service as a soldier and engineer. In a few months he 
accomplished the work in a most satisfactory manner, 
and led them against General Grant's forces at Coffey- 



44 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

ville and signally defeated the Federals on the 5th of 
December, 1862. 

It was in the spring of 1863 that General John C. 
Pemberton's army was driven by General Grant within 
the fortifications of Vicksburg. The rear guard of the 
Confederate Army was commanded by General Tilgh- 
man and known as the First Bridage of Major-General 
W. W. Loring's Division. At Champion's Hill, about 
twenty-two miles from Vicksburg, that American 
gibraltar of those days, General Tilghman made a de- 
termined stand against the advancing columns of the 
Federal forces. 

As the fight waxed hot and his troops were being 
forced back, he dismounted and took command, in 
person, of a section of field artillery and was in the act 
of sighting a howitzer when he received his death 
wound, a cannonball striking him in the hip. He was 
struck at 5:20 o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, May 
16, and lived about three hours after being carried to the 
shade of a peach tree. He died with the Lord's Prayer 
upon his lips in the arms of his adjutant general, 
Powhattan Ellis. D. A. Given and Charles J. Jarrett 
were near their commander when he welcomed death. 
In his suffering he met the summons as eagerly 
as a tired sentry greets the ''relief." The burial 
took place in the Searles family lot in Vicksburg's 
"Beautiful City of the Dead," the city cemetery 
that is almost as noted as the National burial 
ground nearby. And another home, far off in the blue 
distance, w^as made sadder by the grim war. 

WINS HIGHEST PRAISE 

A huge granite boulder in Hinds County, Mississippi, 
marks the spot where General Tilghman was killed. The 
bronze tablet on the rock bears the following inscription: 
"Lloyd Tilghman, Brigadier General C. S. A. Com- 
manding First Brigade Loring's Division, killed here on 
afternoon of May 16, 1863, near the close of the Battle 
of Champion's Hill." The boulder was placed there by 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 45 

his two living sons, Frederick Boyd Tilghman and Sidell 
Tilghman now of New York City. 

In his official report of the Battle of Champion's Hill, 
General Loring speaks of the brilliant defense made 
by the lamented officer, the reckless indifference to self 
and the love and respect he commanded from the men 
under him. 

"Tilghm.an had been left on the road," the report 
reads, "and almost immediately after our parting met 
a terrible assault of the enemy. When we rejoined him 
he was carrying on a deadly and most gallant fight with 
less than 1,500 effectives. 

OVERWHELMED IN NUMBERS 

"He was attacked by from 6,000 to 8,000 of the 
enemy, with a fine park of artillery, but being ad- 
vantageously posted he not only held him in check but 
repulsed him on several occasions and thus kept open 
the only line of retreat left to the army. The bold stand 
of this Brigade, under its lamented hero, saved a large 
portion of the army." 

General Loring closes his report by saying it is fitting 
that he should speak of the "gallant and accomplished 
Tilghman, quick and bold in the execution of his plans; 
for he fell in the midst of a Brigade that loved him well, 
after repulsing a powerful enemy in a deadly fight. 
Struck by a cannon shot, a brigade wept over the dying 
hero, alike beautiful as it was touching." 

But an even more beautiful tribute was paid the dead 
hero by Colonel A. E. Reynolds, who succeeded General 
Tilghman. An extract from his official report reads: 

'T cannot refrain from paying a slight tribute to the 
memory of my late commander. As a man, a soldier 
and a general, he had few if any superiors, and was 
always at his post. He devoted himself day and night 
to his command. Upon the battlefield he was cool, 
collected and observant. He commanded the entire 
respect and confidence of every officer and soldier under 
him, and the only censure ever cast upon him was that 
he always exposed himself too recklessly. The tears 



46 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

shed by his men on the occasion and the grief felt by his 
entire Brigade, are the proudest tributes that can be 
given the gallant dead." 

Gen. Lloyd Tilghman was married to Miss Augusta 
Murray Boyd, May 26, 1843, in St. Paul's Episcopal 
church, Portland, Maine. She was born in Portland 
January 8, 1819, the youngest of fifteen children, and 
was educated in her native city. Her father was Joseph 
C. Boyd, the first Treasurer of the State of Maine, while 
her mother was Miss Isabella Southgate, whose sister, 
Miss Eliza Southgate, was married to Walter Bowne, 
mayor of New York in 1833. 

Her grandmother was Miss Mary King, sister of 
Rufus King, the first Minister to the Court of St. James. 
John Alsop King, Governor of New York, was the son 
of Rufus King, and therefore her cousin. Robert Boyd, 
the first Boyd who came to this country, brought with 
him the family records, showing the descent from the 
Earls of Kilmarnock, and it is comparatively easy to 
trace the connection to Robert Bruce, King of Scotland. 

HOW ROMANCE BEGAN 

When Mrs. Tilghman was a girl she often visited her 
uncle, Walter Bowne, who lived on Beckman street. New 
York, where she frequently met Martin Van Buren and 
with whom she became a great favorite. Mrs. Tilghman 
died at her home in New York City, February 1, 1898, 
at the age of 79 years. An injury sustained in a fall 
and from which she never fully recovered, hastened the 
end. Of her eight children only two sons are now living. 
The oldest son, Lloyd Tilghman, Jr., was killed in the 
Civil War in August, 1863, near Selma, Ala., at the age 
of seventeen years, meeting his death only a few months 
after his gallant father. 

The manner in which General Tilghman came to meet 
Mrs. Tilghman is of interest. His mother, Mrs. James 
Tilghman, lived in Philadelphia and was a strict 
Episcopalian, and always, when possible, attended the 
triennial conventions of bishops. In those days ministers 
and delegates were often assigned to private houses to 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 47 

be entertained during assembly. It happened that in 
1841 the Reverend Frederick Boyd of Portland was 
assigned with his young sister, Augusta Boyd, to Mrs. 
James Tilghman's house, and so made the acquaintance 
of General Tilghman, who was then twenty-five years 
old. This meeting resulted in a close friendship between 
them, and two years later they were married. Frederick 
Boyd Tilghman was named after his uncle on his 
mother's side. 

When General Joseph Hooker died at Garden City, 
Long Island, in 1879, his body was brought to the City 
Hall in New York City to lie in state. Sidell Tilghman 
mentioned this mark of respect to his mother, who said: 
"My son. General Hooker was your father's best man at 
our wedding." Whereupon Mr. Tilghman immediately 
visited the city building and viewed the remains. 

Mrs. Tilghman was named for Miss Augusta Murray, 
or "Lady Augusta" as she was called by courtesy of her 
friends. The Murrays lived in St. John's Park, where 
now stands the New York Central freight station, but in 
the olden days one of the leading residential sections of 
New York, and as a girl Mrs. Tilghman often visited 
there and also at their farm, Murray Hill, as it was 
known at that time. The farm was located at what is 
now Fifth Avenue and Thirty-seventh street, and is today 
the site of many important mercantile establishments, 
including among others Tiffany & Company. 

FAMILY LEAVES PADUCAH 

The Tilghman family left Paducah in 1861, boarding 
the steamer Dunbar on the last trip that steamer made 
up the Tennessee river. General Tilghman not only took 
his entire family and several servants, but included a 
number of his favorite horses^ Stopping at Fort Henry, 
General Tilghman went into the fort and called on 
Colonel Henry Hineman, after which he returned to the 
steamer and continued up the Tennessee until reaching 
Danville, Tenn., where the Louisville to Memphis rail- 
road division crosses the river. The General and his 




CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL TO GENERAL TILGHMAN 
IN LANG PARK 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 49 

family left the steamer there and proceeded by rail to 
Clarksville, Term., where he procured a residence for 
his dear ones and where they remained through the 
horrors of the war. The cannonading at Fort Henry 
and Fort Donelson could be heard when the wind blew 
in the direction of Clarksville, 

The widowed mother remained at Clarksville until 
1865, when she took her children to New York 
City. The two sons who are still living have made their 
residence in the American metropolis continuously since, 
and today Frederick Boyd Tilghman and Sidell Tilghman 
are numbered among the most successful business men 
in the busy center. Both are members of the New York 
Stock Exchange. 

Frederick Boyd Tilghman was born in Baltimore, 
Md., December 28, 1847, and was married in Cleveland, 
Ohio, December 3, 1878 to Miss Edith B. Miller, the 
daughter of Sylvester J. Miller. Mrs. Tilghman died in 
October, 1879, leaving a daughter. Miss Edith B. Tilgh- 
man, who was married in Paris, France, but who died 
a year after her marriage, leaving twin boys. 

Sidell Tilghman was married on the 16th of Novem- 
ber, 1915, to Miss Leonie F. Callmeyer and they have 
three children, all born at Madison, N. J., as follows: 
Leonie Augusta, born January 31, 1917; Maud, born 
October 11, 1918; and Sidell, Jr., born December 1, 

1920. Mr. Tilghman was born at Philadelphia, July 4, 
1849, and Mrs. Tilghman was born at Madison, N. J., 
March 24, 1878. 

AUGUSTA TILGHMAN HIGH SCHOOL 

Through the generosity of her sons, Frederick Boyd 
Tilghman and Sidell Tilghman, a $20,000 site for a high 
school was given to the city of Paducah in October, 1919. 
The grounds are located on the west side of Murrell 
Boulevard between Clark and Adams streets, and the 
building erected at a cost of $164,000 and named in 
honor of the donors' mother, was opened September 19, 

1921. The cornerstone was placed March 18, 1921. Over 
the front entrance, the name of the school is neatly 



50 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

carved beneath an open book and the glowing torches 
of education. 

Augusta Tilghman High school compares favorably 
with the best of its kind in the country, and is a perpetual 
monument consecrating the memory of General Tilgh- 
man's life companion. Facing the east, whence came the 
lady who gave it its name, and with the beloved land 
for which her immortal husband died, on its right, this 
handsome building will stand there for generations as 
a reminder of that distinguished matron and family who 
once honored Paducah by making their residence here. 
Shortly after the opening of its doors the enrollment in 
Augusta Tilghman High School reached 544 students. 

A handsome man in ordinary attire. General Tilgh- 
man was yet a more striking figure when mounted. He 
rode with a stately dignity, quite unlike the pace indulged 
in by many equestrians of his day, a day when equestrian- 
ism was common. His appearance and the slow gait of 
his horse impressed one as powerful and even majestic, 
and often upon seeing him there flashed through the 
mind a remembrance of Byron's Moorish king as he rode 
benignly through the streets of Granada. 

He possessed the daring and evanescence of Ariel, 
and fear seemed to be a stranger to his nature. In 
Collins' "History of Kentucky" he is spoken of as "an 
excellent officer, brave and faithful, daring and skillful." 

HAD FINE TRAITS 

He had piercing black eyes, darker than Mrs. 
Tilghman's; he was an even six feet tall, uncommonly 
athletic and muscular, and weighed 170 pounds. He 
had a wealth of wavy dark auburn hair. A natural 
dignity was heightened by faultlessness in dress, and a 
courtesy excelled by none revealed the tenderest 
emotions and displayed a most attractive personality. 

His traits gradually matured into that singularly 
imposing personality, the effect of which is described by 
his comrades in language borrowing its similies from 
kings, cathedrals, and mountain peaks. He was a noble, 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 51 

whole-souled, magnanimous man: as pure of honor, as 
lofty in chivalric bearing as the heroes of romance. 

His consecration, his sublime unselfishness, his 
beautiful and grand simplicity, his profound and unob- 
trusive piety, his dramatic and tragic fall at Champion's 
Hill, his fortitude in suffering, his submission to the will 
of God, — all these have supplied theme and story for 
three generations since the golden heart was stilled. 

'Twas at Vicksburg, horror! 
The loss and the sorrow 
Of war, of pitless war. 
With never a doubt 
His fair life went out, 
Tilghman, of Kentucky. 

Both General and Mrs. Tilghmian were members of 
Grace Episcopal church in Paducah, when that congre- 
gation worshipped in its first church home on South 
Second street between Washington and Clark. General 
Tilghman and L. M. Flournoy were wardens in the 
church. The windows of the old building were diamond- 
shaped and beautifully colored. 

DECORATES CHURCH WINDOWS 

General Tilghman took an unusual interest in church 
ornamentation, and he himself selected the colors for 
the diamonds, personally furnishing the elders with a 
design he had executed. The sample submitted was 
readily approved and the work of painting the windows 
was left in his hands. 

Incidentally he applied the brush to the windows 
himself, giving to each an artistic appearance that 
elicited favorable comment from communicant and 
visitor alike. Services were held in that building from 
1846 until the pioneer structure was torn down in 1872, 
In 1873-74 the present Grace Church was built, which 
stands on Broadway near Ninth street. 

General Tilghman's remains were disinterred in 1901 
and taken from Vicksburg to New York City, where they 
were placed beside those of Mrs. Tilghman and other 
members of the family, in Woodlawn cemetery. The 



52 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Tilghman plot was purchased in May, 1875, by the two 
sons still surviving, upon the death of their youngest 
brother, Horatio Southgate Tilghman. The plot is 
located near the center of the large cemetery and faces 
Observation Avenue. 

A handsome monument marks the last resting place 
of General Lloyd Tilghman and Mrs. Augusta Boyd 
Tilghman. The face of the monument bears this in- 
scription: "Genl. Lloyd Tilghman, C. S. A. Born 
January 18, 1816. Killed in Battle of Champion's Hill, 
Miss., May 16, 1863. — His wife, Augusta Boyd Tilgh- 
man, born January 10, 1819. Died February 1, 1898." 
Back of the memorial is a small marble headstone 
measuring fourteen inches high and four inches wide and 
two inches thick. When General Tilghman's remains 
were brought to their present resting place the little 
headstone was carried along and with erection of the 
monument the sons had it inserted at the base where it 
protrudes from the grass. For nearly forty years it 
marked General Tilghman's grave at Vicksburg, The 
inscription on the little white block is: "Genl. L. Tilgh- 
man, Killed May 16, 1863." 

STATUE IS UNVEILED 

An heroic bronze figure of General Tilghman was 
unveiled in Paducah Saturday afternoon, May 15, 1909, 
in the presence of a vast assemblage. The stone base 
was furnished by the United Daughters of the Con- 
federacy and makes a fitting support for the huge statue. 
The statue stands in Lang Park and faces south. 

The subject is interpreted with such truth and breath, 
in such an original and distinct style, that it has been 
pronounced one of the finest portrait statues in America. 
The right hand is supported by the belt, while the other 
holding the slouched hat, which was always removed at 
the slightest demand of reverence, is drawn up close to 
the body and rests on the sword which represents the 
one he weilded so honorably. The left foot is slightly 
advanced as if to denote the forward course he always 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 53 

took in conflict. The face is stern and expresses cour- 
age and defiance. 

The General is represented in field uniform, top 
boots, leather gauntlets, with field glasses slung across 
the shoulders. Nine feet high and weighing 1,800 pounds, 
the casting in one piece of such a massive memorial was 
done under the supervision of Eugene Gargani at Green- 
point, N. Y. The figure is a credit to the work of the 
sculptor, Henry H. Kitson, of Boston. Mr. Kitson was 
in Paducah for the unveiling, as were also Frederick 
Boyd Tilghman and Sidell Tilghman, whose munificence 
made possible the gift to the city. 

Many, many years ago an old minister delivered a 
sermon on the subject of duty, of the higher path, of the 
old landmarks, of the honor that one should guard. He 
spoke of a man whose life was unsullied and who was 
afraid of nothing, save to do wrong; who sprang to 
arms, and went to death, on a bare question of principle ; 
who met the shock of battle at Fort Henry, was with the 
Gray lines at Champion's Hill, and gave his life there in 
stubborn resistance to retreat. The allusion was to 
General Tilghman. 

Alas! The brilliant eyes will blaze no more. The 
merry smile faded, long ago. That head, that was fit 
to wear a crown, lies low, for all the years to come. 




54 



CHAPTER IV 

COLONEL ALBERT P. THOMPSON AND 
THE BATTLE OF PADUCAH 

QUIETLY and unobserved, the anniversary of the most 
thrilling day in West Kentucky's history passes 
almost unnoticed save by the fading remnants of the 
Blue and Gray — those who participated in the Battle of 
Paducah. General Nathan Bedford Forrest's memor- 
able raid — how the dashing cavalryman swept forward 
that melancholy Good Friday afternoon with 1,800 
troopers and stormed Fort Anderson at the foot of 
North Fourth street; how the Federal forces collected 
there held the stronghold and checked the assault; how 
a terror-stricken populace hurriedly ferried to the 
Illinois shore, escaping the deadly hail of missiles and 
witnessing from a safe distance the grand clash of the 
military; how the Confederate officer. Colonel Albert 
P. ("Bert") Thompson was literally torn to pieces when 
a .32 cannon ball struck him while mounted on his 
favorite steed, the moans of dying and cries of wounded 
interspersing the bombardment of the city by gunboats 
patrolling the harbor, and the sad picture of scores of 
citizens returning the following morning to find their 
homes in a mass of flames, the most destructive con- 
flagration ever visited upon Paducah — nothing com- 
memorates the event, there is little praise of dashing 
bravery and scarcely a whisper is heard of the heroism 
displayed in an engagement electrifying in its every 
aspect, — General Forrest's raid or the Battle of Paducah, 
March 25, 1864. 

Old Fort Anderson was located where Riverside 
hospital now stands, an impregnable enclosure on the 
east side of Fourth street and extending from Clay 
through Trimble street. The breastworks were named 
after Major Robert Anderson of Jefferson county, 
Kentucky, who with a band of 128 men surrendered at 



56 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, on April 14, 1861, 
the capitulation of the first Federal fort by a Ken- 
tuckian, causing Fort Anderson to be named thus in his 
honor. 

Originally the Marine Hospital alone occupied 
the site, but in 1861, shortly after General Ulysses S. 
Grant took possession of Paducah the breastworks were 
erected. Dr. Achilles Callaway who had his office at 
Third and Broadway, but who resided at the Marine 
Hospital was the "surgeon and steward" at the time the 
institution was given over to the Federals. Major 
General C. F. Smith was in command of the Federal 
army at Paducah when the work of constructing the fort 
was begun, but with his transferral the work was 
carried on to successful completion under Major Rear 
who was commissioned by General Fremont to superin- 
tend the making of bulwarks. 

MARINE HOSPITAL BURNS 

Major Rear had visited this point before the work 
had started, and it was his opinion that ruled over Major 
General Smith's as to where the fort should be located. 
Major General Smith wished to have the stronghold 
placed at Eleventh and Broadway, but objection was 
raised by Major Rear, who saw the wisdom of having 
it on the river's edge, utilizing the hospital for sleeping 
quarters and any possible emergency. Three years 
later its strategic position was also realized when the 
Confederates under General Forrest's able command 
stormed the fortification from the west, the Ohio river 
cutting off access from the east where gunboats were in 
constant patrol. The hospital building, however, was 
accidentally burned a short time before the raid of 
March 25, 1864, the brick and stone from the walls left 
standing after the fire being used to reinforce the fort. 
The ramparts were dismantled in 1867 and there is 
scarcely a thing left today that would tell of the once 
invincible barrier. 

Fort Anderson was well garrisoned and ready for 
the eventuality to come. Besides having a ditch fifty 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 57 

feet wide around the west and north and south sides, 
strengthened with abattis work which made it almost 
impregnable to infantry attack without artillery, the 
sturdy post was well fortified with eight mounted cannon 
and an array of artillery. The structure itself measured 
400 feet in length and 160 feet from Fourth street to 
the river. It was the first fort erected in Kentucky 
during the Civil War. General Grant's arrival with 
Federal forces "moved the legislature to promptly order 
that the flag of the United States be hoisted on the 
capitol," says Kinkead's "History of Kentucky," for 
the Commonwealth had previously assumed an 
anomalous position of armed neutrality and sought in 
this peculiar way to avoid the war and its consequences. 

The gallant Confederate cavalrymen who composed 
the forces in the attack on Paducah and Fort Anderson 
came under the immediate command of General Forrest 
at Gainesville, Ala, This body first went from that 
point to Mobile. While at Mobile the men were issued 
new shoes, hats and uniforms by General Buckner, who 
was in command of the post. Of genial temperament 
and thoughtfully kind, General Buckner in addition to 
outfitting the men in fresh uniforms treated the officers 
of the regiment to a rare intoxicant, saying that he 
wished he had enough to give every man a drink. 

Several of the men had not had an opportunity to ex- 
change their shabby clothing when they were on the 
ferry that was to carry them across the bay and just 
before the boat left Mobile, General and Mrs. Buckner 
and their little daughter drove up in a carriage. Mrs. 
Buckner carried a fine bouquet and after talking with 
the officers and men a few minutes she lifted her 
daughter out of the carriage, giving her the flowers to 
present to "the dirtiest soldier she could find." The 
little girl looked over the crowd of men as best she could 
and then walked up to C. P. Cloud, Company D., of 
Paducah, and gave them to him. He was exceedingly 
proud of the doubtful compliment paid him. 

Leaving Mobile and coming through Tennessee on to 
west Kentucky, the Confederates reached Mayfield, 



58 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Kentucky, after nightfall March 24, spending the night 
there. 

Fully informed of the military situation at Paducah 
and with all plans made for a raid of supplies and 
munitions, the 1,800 cavalrymen under General Forrest 
struck a double quick pace toward the Federal strong- 
hold in Paducah. The Southern forces came by way of 
the old Mayfield road and reached the picket line at 
Eden's Hill at 2:10 on the afternoon of March 25, 1864. 
Previously at Mayfield the men were detailed from 
Company D, Third Kentucky regiment under Lieutenant 
Jarrett, to go in advance with Colonel A. P. Thompson, 
and it was this regiment which touched the outer picket 
lines first and made several of the Federal sentinels 
prisoners. One of the guards refused to surrender and 
was killed. 

REACH PADUCAH IN AFTERNOON 

In this initial meeting with the Union soldiers. 
Otto Rosecranz reached the top of the hill and 
saw a squad coming up the other side. He fired his 
pistol at them and without returning fire they fled 
toward the city, two of the men throwing away their 
sabres and as many losing their hats in the stampede, 
according to an account of the advance by J. V. Greif of 
Paducah, who died a few years ago and who was one 
of the men with the Confederates. A marker at the 
corner of Guthrie Avenue and Seventeenth street shows 
the road over which the invading army approached the 
city. It reads: "This tablet marks the road on which 
Gen. N. B. Forrest entered in the capture of Paducah, 
Ky., March 25, 1864." 

The invading army continued to come nearer the city 
and upon reaching the site of the old fair grounds 
which for years lay on the east side of the old Mayfield 
Road just beyond the present city limits, General 
Abraham (Abe) Buford joined the division and the 
forces pressed forward with renewed vigor, capturing 
pickets along the way. Several squads were captured 
on Broadway where the Illinois Central Railroad 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 59 

Hospital now stands and where the brigade crossed 
Broadway. Meanwhile the forces in the rear had come 
up and stretched themselves in a line of reserves extend- 
ing from what is now Husbands street out to a point on 
the Cairo road beyond the present C. B. & Q railroad 
tracks. 

COLORED TROOPS ENGAGED 

It was shortly after 3 o'clock when Colonel 
Thompson reached Fifteenth and Broadway — the city 
limits then ended at Contest (later renamed Ninth) 
street, but the Broadway thoroughfare continued west 
from the corporate limits — and the men now sat in their 
saddles awaiting darkness. From their mounts they 
could see the Federals marching to get into the fort, and 
the cavalrymen clamored to be led against them while 
the engagement might be staged in the open. They were 
told, however, that the raid was for the purpose of 
procuring medical supplies and munitions, and not for 
prisoners. The Union forces were safely housed while 
the men scarce a mile away were forbidden to advance. 
The Kentucky brigade then dismounted. 

Colonel Stephen G. Hicks of the Fortieth Illinois In- 
fantry was commanding the fort. The Federals inside 
the enclosure numbered 665, and the command con- 
sisted further of Major George F. Barnes, Major J. F. 
Chapman and Lieutenant R. D. Cunningham, the latter 
at the head of the First Kentucky Heavy Artillery 
(colored), 274 men who received their baptism of fire 
shortly after the Confederate lines were formed at 4:30 
o'clock. 

SEE HOMES THEY LEFT 

Many of the Southern men were Paducahans who 
had not seen the city since enlistment. Their homes 
were here, their families were here. Colonel Thompson 
himself had left his Paducah home to join the Southern 
colors, the home he left being midway between where 
his dismounted men had formed in battle array and 
where the coveted fort stood. The opportunity to storm 



60 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

the stronghold for home and dear ones was irresistible. 
An assault was imminent. 

At this moment General Forrest rode up and ordered 
a flag of truce sent to Colonel Hicks, and knowing the 
men under Colonel Thompson were principally from 
Paducah he gave the order that these should deliver the 
message. Accordingly they started forward, Company 
D in the lead, but the eager cavalrymen now on foot had 
gone only a part of the distance when overtaken by a 
courier with orders for all to return save a detail of six. 
The captain of Company D then selected the first six 
men in the company to carry the message, four of whom 
were Charles Reed, John Brooks, Rufe Stevens and John 
Garrett, the names of the other two having been lost in 
the years. The demand for surrender was addressed 
to Colonel Hicks and signed by General Forrest himself, 
and read: 

"Colonel : Having a force amply sufficient to carry 
your works and reduce the place, and in order to avoid 
the unnecessary effujjion of blood, I demand the sur- 
render of the fort and troops, with all public property. 
If you surrender, you shall be treated as prisoners of 
war; but if I have to storm your works, you may expect 
no quarter. 

"N. B. FORREST, 
''Major-General, Commanding Confederate Troops." 

While the flag of truce was nearing the fort and 
during its pendency, members of the Third and Seventh 
Kentucky regiments were engaged in taking their 
positions. The regiments had 105 men and 75 men 
respectively. The Eighth regiment was in the central 
part of the city ransacking commissary stores, taking 
from the Government stables the horses, mules and 
wagons, burning the quartermaster's temporary wooden 
building and capturing an occasional picket. Colonel 
Hicks' reply was now at hand. It read: 

"Sir: I have this moment received yours of this in- 
stant, in which you demand the unconditional surrender 
of the forces under my command. I can answer that I 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 



61 



have been placed here by the Government to defend this 
post, and in this, as well as all other orders from my 
superiors, I feel it to be my duty as an honorable officer 
to obey. I must, therefore, respectfully decline sur- 
rendering as you may require. TTimzQ 

"S. G. HlCKb, 
"Colonel, Commanding Post." 

Simultaneously with the receipt of this refusal the 
gunboats Peosta and Paw Paw began shellmg the city, 
movements of the Confederates precipitating the heavy 
discharge. Most of the shells at first went over the 
heads of the invaders, but after discovering their high 
aim the gunboat commanders had the guns lowered and 
flying gravel picked up by the cannonballs mingled with 
the hurling shells. General Buford's regiment withdrew 
from the river's edge and detoured to the Cairo road, the 
right wing resting on Broadway and the left flanking 
the road. Rushing forward from this line the division 
captured a redoubt with two guns. 

Captain Thomas B. Fauntleroy of Kevil who joined 
the Southern volunteers when he was sixteen years of 
age was with General Buford in this onward rush, and 
was within forty yards of the parapet when after the 
third unsuccessful attack General Forrest rode up and 
ordered the guns silenced. The Federal gunboats 
had ranged their fire directly up the streets so as 
to clear these avenues of the cavalrymen. The firing 
was especially heavy up Trimble street. 

PADUCAH OFFICER KILLED 

An old maple tree at the southwest corner of Fifth 
and Trimble streets was pierced by a three-inch cannon- 
ball coming from a gunboat just below the fort. The 
tree measures two feet in diameter and the hole which 
is about three feet from the ground is large enough to 
place the arm through. It is one of the most interesting 
trees in the citv associated with the Civil War. A. L 
Babb, who formerly resided at the northwest corner ot 
Fifth and Trimble streets found a three-inch cannonball. 



62 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

the calibre of the one that struck the tree, while tilling 
the soil at that place in the spring of 1915. 

Following the third attack on the stronghold and 
complying with General Forrest's order to cease firing, 
General Thompson was seated on his horse surrounded 
by his staff of officers near the alley on Trimble street 
between Fifth and Sixth streets. The sun had gone down 
and darkness was enshrouding the city. Colonel Bell 
under General Forrest had raided the Federal supply 
stations scattered over the principal parts of the city. 
The raid had been successful. The Confederate forces 
had dropped back from the fort to a distance of 500 
feet, finding the ditch at the bulwarks impassable with- 
out pontoons or ladders. The galling fire of grape and 
cannister and shrapnel and shell from the stronghold 
and gunboats inflicted considerable loss. 

But the general fusillade had subsided considerably, 
and now General Buford dispatched an order by his 
assistant inspector general. Captain D. E. Meyers, to 
Colonel Thompson, ordering him to fall back under cover 
of a line of houses, where the men could be protected 
from further Federal fire. Captain Meyers was ordered 
to proceed to the right of the brigade and down the line 
to the left, delivering the orders to the colonels until he 
found Colonel Thompson. This he did without receiv- 
ing a scratch. Just before his staff officer reached him 
with the order. Colonel Thompson was struck by a 
cannonball from a gunboat which fired directly up the 
road, now Trimble street. Captain Fauntleroy, who was 
within a few feet of Colonel Thompson, says the cannon- 
ball struck the mounted officer about the pummel of 
the saddle. 

In a vivid account of the officer's fall, the late J. V. 
Greif related that a column of the Third Kentucky was 
entering the alley back of the present Frank Kirchhoff, 
Sr., property at Fifth and Trimble streets, a two-story 
brick farm house then occupied by Robert Crow. Colonel 
Thompson had halted and his horse stood a few feet east 
of the alley entrance, the horse facing the south with 
the fore hoofs in the gutter. The colonel was conversing 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 63 

with several officers and had his cap in the right hand 
held overhead at arm's length, when the cannonball 
struck him and the animal. The horse ran half a block 
to Sixth street and fell, and was later buried on the spot 
where a marker in the sidewalk determines the place 
where its gallant rider lost his life in sight of his home. 
Trimble street was then known as part of the Cairo road 
and was fenced on both sides. 

George P. Hainline who died a few years ago was 
another Confederate who was close to Colonel Thompson 
and he often told of the gruesome sight of the dead 
officer. 

CROSSLAND TAKES COMMAND' 

Immediately after Colonel Thompson's fall. Colonel 
Ed Crossland assumed the command. He had just 
ordered the men to fall back behind the old Lang 
stemmery, when he was struck in the right thigh by a 
rifle ball. Several squads of sharpshooters went around 
Sixth street and nine men succeeded in safely reaching 
Gus Slusmeyer's house, a brick cottage still standing 
at 515 North Fourth street. Speaking of the rifle work 
done from this house, Mr. Greif said he was one of the 
men under Lieutenant Jarrett who picked off the 
Federals at the fort a hundred feet away. "Our guns 
were never idle after we got in position until the enemy 
succeeded in bringing to bear on our position a gun from 
another part of the fort," Mr. Greif said. "I was knocked 
down when a ball passed through the house," he con- 
tinued, "and as I fell I heard the order of Lieutenant 
Jarrett to get out. When I got up all were gone. I 
followed and took a position behind a coal pile with 
Captain Crit Edwards, telling him I was hurt. He ex- 
amined me and said I was not injured. It was a great 
relief to me to know that I was not hurt, for I was 
struck on the left jaw by some object during the excite- 
ment and thought it was about all gone." 

When the men under Colonel Crossland reached the 
Lang stemmery, a number went in the building and fired 
into the fort from windows in the second story. One of 



64 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

these was Ed Moss of Company D, Third Kentucky, who 
^vas killed at a window by a solid shot striking him in the 
breast. His remains were buried near the building the 
following morning. About 8 o'clock the cavalrymen 
left the stemmery and returned to their horses, which 
had been left where the Illinois Central hospital now 
stands. 

Seeing the Confederates gradually withdrawing, the 
Federals raised their guns and began shelling the 
horses. Mr. Greif says a shell exploded in the line near 
him, a piece of sharpnel striking a cavalryman in the 
hip who was holding several horses, the frightful wound 
causing his death a few days afterwards. "Another 
piece of the shell passed between him and my horse," 
Mr. Greif declared, "cutting off my stirrup leather and 
breaking the horse's leg between the hock and the 
stiffle joint. I rode the wounded man's horse out. Tied 
to the saddle of my own horse was a cedar canteen with 
my name on the side of it, and when my horse was 
found on the commons the next morning it was reported 
to my father, with the suggestion that I had probably 
been killed. It had also been reported to him during 
the fight that I had been killed on Broadway below 
Second street and that my body was in the second story 
of St. Clair's hall. On investigation it proved to be an 
artillery man." St. Clair's hall was a three-story 
theater building which formerly stood at 112-114 South 
Second street, the third floor being the auditorium, the 
second used for offices and the lower or ground floor 
employed as a storeroom and later occupied by a 
commercial establishment. 

ANECDOTES OF BATTLE 

During one of the attacks on the fort a boy named 
Ewell Hord was at Mr. Greif's left side and asked him to 
load his gun. "Load it yourself; I'm busy," said Mr. 
Greif. "I can't; I'm wounded in the arm and can't draw 
my rammer," the boy said. "Go to the rear, you fool!" 
Mr. Greif exclaimed. "What better luck do you want? 



PADUCAHAXS IN HISTORY 65 

It gets you out of this!" Failing to get anyone to load 
his gun he went off to the rear crying. 

Captain Fauntleroy tells an incident that occurred 
while the Confederates were within fifty yards of the 
fort. John Stockdale was beside him and the two had 
noticed in particular a member of the Eighth Illinois 
Colored Artillery who raised his head above the parapet, 
fired his rifle and then dropped from sight again. "If 
that scamp sticks his head up again he will be sorry for 
it," said Stockdale as he was reloading his gun. In 
scarcely a minute the head bobbed up again and Stock- 
dale made fatal aim. Captain Fauntleroy laughingly 
declares his companion "must have struck him in a vital 
place, for he jumped up like a wild turkey and fell out 
of the fort." 

A few minutes after General Forrest gave the order 
to fall back he rode down the line saying, "It's pretty 
warm out there, is it not, boys?" referring to the terri- 
tory the Confederates had just left. Someone in the 
Third Kentucky replied, "Not here. General ; but it's 
infernally hot just out there a little farther," pointing 
at the fort. 

CONFEDERATES WITHDRAW 

According to the official report of Colonel Hicks 
dated April 6, 1864, and addressed to Captain J. H. 
Odlin, assistant adjutant general, the Federal loss was 
14 killed and 46 wounded. The Confederate loss was 
11 killed and 39 wounded. In his official report sent 
to President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy, General 
Forrest says: 'T drove the enemy to their boats and for- 
tification, held the town for ten hours, capturing a large 
amount of clothing, several hundred horses, a large lot 
of medical stores for the command, burning a steamer, 
the dock, and all cotton on the landing. I could have 
held the place longer, but on account of the prevalence 
of smallpox in the place I though it prudent to with- 
draw." 

The Confederate forces left Paducah at 11 o'clock, 
going out the old Mayfield road over which they came 



66 P A D U C A H A N S IN HISTORY 

and bivouacking for the remainder of the night six and 
a half miles from the city on the property of George 
Schmidt, now owned by his son, Fred Schmidt. The 
house around which the cavalrymen encamped still 
stands. It was built by George Schmidt in 1861, and 
was then a story and a half three-room log structure, but 
in recent years has been remodeled and enlarged. 
General Forrest's horse was tied to a black oak tree in 
the front yard, on an elevated area, which permitted the 
dashing raider a commanding view for a considerable 
distance. The "death wagon" was parked under a small 
tree to the right of the front entrance, and the groans 
coming from the wounded and dying in it could be 
heard throughout the night — faint calls for help like 
those of the dauntless defenders and fearless assailants 
who after the Battle of Waterloo and while yet alive 
found a common grave in the well at the Chateau of 
Hougoumont. Mr. Schmidt, who with his family now 
occupies the historic house, was only two years of age 
when the troopers encamped there. They left the fol- 
lowing morning, March 26. The noted tree stands 
about 300 yards from the house and is fifty feet tall, the 
branches extending over a space forty feet wide. 

FEDERALS BURN HOUSES 

With the Rebel dash into Paducah on the 25th — that 
memorable Good Friday of 1864 — the populace fled for 
shelter and protection. Some of the residents sought 
safety in cellars and basements; others hid in secluded 
spots; but the majority crossed the Ohio river for the 
Illinois shore, knowing the Confederates would be un- 
able to ford the river. The night was spent under 
trees, and bonfires were kindled to add to the comfort of 
the distracted people, for the evening was unusually 
cool. Shortly after sunrise the ferryboat brought back 
a number of residents and so on through the morning, 
the boat was kept busy. 

But the spectacle to greet their eyes was wholly un- 
expected. They knew General Forrest's cavalry had 
robbed the government of stores and supplies, yet there 



P A D U C A H A N S IX HISTORY 67 

had been no wholesale destruction of property during 
the engagement of the afternoon nor during the night. 
To return now and witness the burning of their homes 
by Federal torches seemed incredible. From the steam- 
boat Tycoon, H. A. Sweet the clerk wrote "Paducah was 
in flames when this boat passed at 8 a. m." Many of 
the citizens had already returned to their homes before 
the order came to leave them. The order stated they 
were to be destroyed immediately and the occupants 
would not have time to remove the furnishings. 

The burning of sixty houses within a radius of several 
hundred yards of Fort Anderson was in accordance with 
an order from Colonel Hicks, who heard the Con- 
federates planned another attack on the breastworks. 
The day before, sharpshooters hid themselves in the 
houses and shot down into the fort, killing and wounding 
two score and imperiling the Federal hold on the place. 

"On the 26th the enemy again made a demonstration 
by surrounding the fort in the distance," says Colonel 
Hicks' official report. "As soon as I discovered this I 
ordered Major Barnes, of the Sixteenth Kentucky 
Cavalry, to send out squads to burn all the houses within 
musket range of the fort, from which the sharpshooters 
had annoyed us the day previous." 

HICKS EXPLAINS COURSE 

Writing from Salem, 111., June 25, 1868, four years 
later. Colonel Hicks explained his course to Messrs. 
Peck & Mattison, attorneys at Evansville. "We were 
attacked by an overwhelming force," he wrote, "and 
they took possession of all the houses in gunshot of the 
fort. We repulsed the enemy and beat them back all 
day. I saw I would be attacked again and the better to 
protect myself against their sharpshooters I issued the 
order." 

After the war closed the Government was asked for 
reimbursement by a number who lost their homes. A 
known Union man succeeded in having Congress pass a 
bill aiding the losers, but President U. S. Grant vetoed 



68 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

the measure as a bad precedent to set, declaring with 
Colonel Hicks that the usages of war made burning of 
property a line of defense. The destruction of these 
houses was a distinct loss to many whose homes repre- 
sented years of frugality and struggle during Paducah's 
infancy. 

Shortly before 7 o'clock on the morning of the 26th 
General Forrest climbed the large oak tree which stood 
until December 13, 1921, near the Hendron schoolhouse 
on the old Mayfield road. This tree, which was cut 
down during a residence fire to prevent the spreading 
of flames to the schoolhouse, was used by the Con- 
federate General for observation purposes. With his 
field glasses he could follow the squad which carried his 
second flag of truce to the Federal headquarters, pro- 
posing to exchange man for man according to rank the 
forty Union soldiers who were captured in the raid. The 
Federals had a number of Confederate prisoners of war 
in the guardhouse, but Colonel Hicks would not comply. 
He had no power to make the exchange, he said. "If 
I had, I would most cheerfully do it." The Confederates 
then withdrew. 

WHO THOMPSON WAS 

On the 14th of April another raid occurred. General 
Abraham Buford coming from Tennessee upon hearing 
the government had several hundred horses here. 
Captain Fauntleroy who was also in the first raid, and 
James Anderson of the old Mayfield road are among 
the Confederate survivors. It was at noon on a Thurs- 
day that the Third, Seventh and Eighth Kentucky 
Cavalry, about 800 strong, made a dash on the enemy. 
The Federal pickets had fallen back to Fort Anderson 
w^here Colonel Hicks concentrated his forces. "No 
attempt was made to capture the fort, the object of the 
expedition being to obtain the fine horses," says Colonel 
Hicks in his official report of the encounter. About 
150 horses were taken. 

A mournful interest attaches to Colonel Albert P. 
Thompson, the gallant cavalry officer who was listed 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 69 

among the Confederate casualties in the Batttle of 
Paducah, or Forrest's first raid, as it is frequently called. 
"Bert" Thompson, as he was best known to his friends, 
was born eight miles northwest of Murray in Calloway 
county March 4, 1829, the son of Sam Thompson, a 
prosperous farmer. He grew to manhood amid the slopes 
of West Kentucky, and after studying law soon became 
prominent at the bar. In early life he was married to 
Miss Mary Jane Bowman, who died a year after the 
marriage. A few years later his second wife, Miss 
Harriet Harding, died. Colonel Thompson was then 
married to the daughter of Attorney Mayer of Mayfield, 
and coming to Paducah he formed a law partnership 
under the firm name Bigger, Thompson and Roe. The 
two lawyers associated with him were Joseph M. Bigger 
and John H. Roe, and the firm had offices on the east 
side of First street between Broadway and Jefferson 
street. Colonel Thompson lived at the southeast corner 
of Seventh and Monroe streets. Unfoitunately there is 
no marker to show the place where his residence stood, 
tragically enough within sight of which he lost his com- 
paratively young and promising life. 

LOVED BY COMRADES 

Colonel Thompson was one of the organizers of the 
Fifth Kentucky regiment at Camp Boone near Bowling 
Green early in the war; he was elected lieutenant- 
colonel of the regiment. From Camp Boone he was sent 
to Corinth, Miss., and in the Battle of Baton Rouge led 
the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Kentucky regiments to- 
gether with the Thirty-fifth Alabama regiment. He 
was wounded in the conflict and was commended for his 
gallantry. In the summer of 1863 his regiment was 
mounted and became known as mounted infantry but 
later acquired the name cavalry through constant use 
of horses. 

He had a compelling charm of manner and an 
earnestness and sincerity that won instant admiration 
and endeared him to his comrades in arms. Those who 
were associated with him in Forrest's various expeditions. 



70 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

speak of him most highly. After his death he was made 
a General, and this title is carved on his monument. 

Colonel Thompson's mutilated body lay on Trimble 
street where he fell until the morning after the Battle 
of Paducah, when shortly before 9 o'clock John McClung 
and former Mayor D. A. Yeiser went to the site and 
gathered the remains, engaging a drayman to convey the 
torn body to the one-story frame building which then 
stood where the Postoffice now is located. Mr. McClung 
was a clerk at L. S. Trimble & Company's wholesale 
grocery and Mr. Yeiser was then with the old Cope & 
Neel drug store on the north side of lower Broadway. 
They visited the place where the Colonel's body lay as 
soon as they heard of its being left in the disorder which 
for a few minutes followed his fall. The remains were 
prepared for burial, and interment took place in Oak 
Grove cemetery. 

SLEEPS NEAR MURRAY 

It was a pity that a man of his rare type should be 
made to die at the age of thirty-five. Still, life is not 
computed in years but rather in terms of usefulness. His 
was a worthy and beneficial life, marked by service to 
his fellowman. Well might he have said, "Lay a sword 
in my coffin; for I, too, was a soldier in the great 
struggle." 

At the close of the war Colonel Thompson's remains 
were disinterred and removed to the burial site of his 
first and second wives, the Bowman cemetery one mile 
north of Murray on the Paducah and Murray road. It 
is an obscure and rather neglected lot, and is the burying 
place of twenty-five members of the old Bowman and 
Harding and Thompson families. 

A square base monument ten feet high marks the 
spot where Colonel Thompson rests. There are four 
inscriptions in the shaft. The first reads: "Gen. Albert 
P. Thompson, 3d Ky. Brigade, C. S. A. Fell at Paducah, 
March 25, 1864, age 35 years, 22 days." Another says, 
'Tn view of home, in the midst of his neighbors, he laid 



P A D U C A H A N S IN HISTORY 71 

down his life." Four lines on the shaft reveal the type 
of man he was — 

No country ever had a truer son, 

No cause a nobler champion ; 

No people a bolder defender, 

No principle a purer victim. 

The final wording on the sentinel says "While 
God keeps his soul the people for whom he died will 
cherish and defend his memory." And it has ever been 
so, for no mention can be made of General A. P. Thomp- 
son without thought of his consecration to God and duty 
as it seemed to him, no reference to the Battle of 
Paducah but that the fallen officer's memory stands in 
bold relief upon the page of Time. 

Colonel Thompson lost his life in the most significant 
battle ever fought in west Kentucky, the anniversary of 
which is clearly recalled by honored participants on both 
sides — the noble men of the North, the magnanimous 
men of the South — on earth and in heaven ! 




HON. WILLIAM S. BISHOP, THE "OLD JUDGE PRIEST" 
OF IRVIN S. COBB'S STORIES 

From the original portrait in the Circuit Court Room at the 
McCracken County Court House. 



w 



CHAPTER V 

'OLD JUDGE PRIEST" AND HIS NOBLE 
CHARACTERISTICS 

'HO was the affable, lovable dignitary of whom 
Irvin S. Cobb has written so affectionately and so 
very much, the once familiar old west Kentucky judge 
who walked Paducah's shady avenues and handed out 
justice in the county building two blocks off Broadway? 
The thoughtfully accommodating "Judge Priest" 
who figures so prominently in those fascinating short 
stories; who, for instance, provided a church funeral for 
an unfortunate girl who requested one; who, agam, had 
the circus parade wend its way out Clay street that an 
indisposed boy might view it; whose wit and shrewdness 
an another occasion, decided an important election when 
defeat of an honorable figure seemed imminent— who 
was this kindly jurist that millions have read about and 
know only by the name Paducah's brilliant son has given 
him — who was "Old Judge Priest?" 

Most Paducahans probably know. In the Circuit Court 
room at the county building hang two portraits. One 
is a painting of Judge William S. Bishop, the other ot 
Judge Edward Crossland, under whom the former 
served during the Civil War. Judge Crossland is also 
mentioned in the "Old Judge Priest" short stories; he 
died in 1881 and is buried at Mayfield. Almost any 
Paducahan of the present generation can tell you that 
the painting to the left is the principal character alluded 
to by Irvin S. Cobb in "Old Judge Priest" and "Back 

Home." 

But not every one who has looked upon tliai 
countenance is sure just what characteristics its owner 
possessed, does not know for certain what his personal 
attributes were and why Paducah's sage should pen so 
freely of his life. Indeed, few of the city's residents 
pause to think while passing the two-story frame house 



74 PADUCAHAXS IN HISTORY 

at 929 Broadway that a score of years ago 
Judge William S. Bishop resided there, that he walked 
the brick passageway leading from the steps to the iron 
fence at the sidewalk for more than twenty years. There 
is no marker in the sidewalk to indicate where the old 
judge lived so long, so how should they know? Nor 
does the average person know that "Old Judge Priest" 
sleeps out in Oak Grove cemetery, ready to face a 
greater Judge than this earth ever saw. 

READS LAW UNDER OSCAR TURNER 

Born in Trigg county, Kentucky, July 18, 1839, 
William S. Bishop was the youngest son of seven children 
born to Joseph and Elizabeth Bishop. He received a 
common school education in the rural districts and spent 
his boyhood amid the rocky hills of the Trigg vicinity. 
As manhood approached he attended Transylvania 
University, Lexington, and returning from that institu- 
tion in 1859 he began the study of law under Hon. Oscar 
Turner in Ballard county. He was admitted to the bar 
two years later, or in his twentv-second year. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, William S. Bishop 
enlisted in Company F, Seventh Kentucky Confederate 
Infantry on the 7th of November, 1861. He was in the 
battles at Corinth (Miss.), Brazos Creek Roads, Baton 
Rouge and the bombardment of Port Hudson, and 
shortly before General Lee's surrender was taken captive 
on the Big Black river, near Vicksburg. Paroled in the 
spring of 1865, he returned to west Kentucky and began 
teaching school alternately in McCracken and Ballard 
counties. The practice of law was not formally begun 
until 1870. 

Two years after returning from the Federal prison, 
he was married to Miss Mary A. Hart, a native of 
Tennessee but a resident of McCracken county. Ac- 
cording to the notation referring to the wedding in Judge 
Bishop's family Bible now in possession of his sister-in- 
law, Mrs. Courtney Long of Paducah, the ceremony was 
performed "at the residence of the bride's father, Samuel 
Hart, by Rev. William Black." The marriage occurred 



P A D U C A H A N S IN HISTORY 75 

January 29, 1867. Four children were born to the 
couple — Henry L., Emma E., William R. and Joe Bishop. 
The first and last are the only surviving ones, and they 
are now living in Memphis. 

CHOSEN CIRCUIT JUDGE 

When he was forty years of age William S. Bishop 
was elected Common Pleas Judge of the First Judicial 
District of Kentucky, the returns from every precinct 
in 1879 offering encouragement and expressing con- 
fidence in his ability. Judge Bishop removed from 
Ballard county to Paducah with his family in the early 
eighties, and in 1891 was chosen Circuit Judge of the 
First Judicial District, serving the full term of six years. 
It was both as Common Pleas Judge and Circuit Judge 
that Irvin S. Cobb found the courteously sagacious 
character around whom he has woven a realm of fact 
and fancy. Colonel Joel Shrewsbury, an intimate friend 
of Mr. Cobb's father and from whom the distinguished 
literatus received his middle name, often called on the 
judge at his residence, taking Cobb along to hear the 
two reminisce about their war experiences. 

In stature, Judge Bishop was of medium height; his 
chest was deep and broad; his head large, and a model 
of classical proportions and noble contour. A handsome 
face, compact brow, massive and expanded, and eyes of 
light blue, full and clear, were fitted for every feeling 
and sentiment. His complexion partook of smoothness 
and bore a healthy glow. The countenance was serious 
and melancholy; in repose, he resembled the poet 
Whittier. He was frank and artless as a child, there 
was nothing affected or theatrical in his manner. 

WAS GENEROUS AND KIND 

And then the man! Generous as a prince of royal 
blood, of a spirit that scorned everything mean or 
questionable, he was above the littleness of jealousy and 
rivalry; his love of truth, his fidelity and frankness, 
were formed on the antique modes of the chevaliers. 
His kindness and gentle spirit flowed over like an 



76 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

artesian well, ever gushing out in sparkling current. He 
had a quiet way of gathering information with marvelous 
rapidity. The sun-stroke that makes its impression upon 
the medicated plate is not more rapid in tianscribing, 
or more faithful in fixing its image, than was his per- 
ception in taking cognizance of facts and principles, or 
his abilty to retain them. His humor was various — 
from the most delicate wit to the broadest farce, but no 
one ever heard him use coarse jest or employ Falstaff 
expression. He was, withal, a gentleman of true 
Southern type, a glance from whose strong and steady 
eye awed honesty into the most objectionable creature. 
Following expiration of his term as Circuit Judge the 
old jurist resumed the practice of law in which he en- 
gaged until three months before his death at the age of 
sixty-three, May 23, 1902. Though he had been in 
failing health for two years, the immediate cause of 
death was attributed to complications. He had been at 
the home of his sister, Mrs. Allen Banks, two miles from 
Hinkleville in Ballard county for a month previous to 
the end, thinking perhaps the rural surroundings of his 
younger days and another locality might induce favor- 
able change in his condition. 

BURIED IN OAK GROVE CEMETERY 

At 10 o'clock Friday morning the kindly folk with 
whom he mingled learned of his death; at that hour the 
noble heart ceased to beat and the soul of Judge Bishop 
soared far and beyond the ken of man. A deep sorrow 
overhung the community and tears dimmed eyes of 
legions he had befriended; it was as though a note failed 
to sound, it was the passing of a warm, magnanimous 
spirit. At 7 o'clock the following morning the remains 
were brought to Paducah and taken to the home of his 
brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. Al Coleman, 
1103 Madison street. At 10 o'clock the funeral service 
was held from the Broadway Methodist church of which 
he was a member, Rev. G. W. Briggs conducting a brief 
and simple service. The remains were borne to Oak 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 77 

Grove cemetery and placed beside those of his wife, who 
preceded him to the grave by eighteen months. 

Grief over departure of his life's companion pre- 
cipitated his own death in degree. Indeed, at the time 
of her death he had not yet recovered from the shock 
occasioned by the death of his daughter at the age of 
twenty, March 19, 1893. A slender maiden in her teens, 
she became the wife of Hugh L. Perkins of this city on 
the 3rd day of February, 1891, and her death followed 
birth of the judge's grandchild. 

Three stately cedars today cast their benevolent 
shade over the resting place of Judge and Mrs. Bishop ; 
their daughter, Mrs. Perkins, and her son who survived 
her five months; and William Bishop who died several 
years after his father passed away. The lot is centrally 
located, a fifteen by thirty foot curbed enclosure on 
Silent Avenue, and a hundred feet south from the 
Oehlschlaeger vault. It is unostentatiously marked by 
the name "Bishop" on the steps, set with a beautiful 
stone in the middle. The two children and grandchild 
sleep to the front of the little plot while Judge and Mrs. 
Bishop rest beyond, their graves covered with green sod 
above which the blue sky peeps through branches of the 
evergreens. 

"THIS WAS A MAN" 

An hour before Judge Bishop's tranquil funeral the 
Paducah bar association held a solemn meeting at the 
city hall and adopted resolutions of condolence and 
regret at the passing of one "whose career added lustre 
and brilliance to the already noted eminence of the 
profession in Kentucky; who, as a jurist, evinced an 
honesty of purpose and clearness seldom equalled and 
never surpassed." The resolutions were signed by a 
committee composed of John K. Hendrick, Thomas E. 
Moss, Campbell Flournoy, W. A. Berry and J. M. 
Worten, and bore witness that the deceased was kind, 
patient and courteous as a Judge in whose splendid dis- 
position there was not one harsh attribute. The resolu- 
tions concluded by saying that in him the elements were 



78 PADUCAHANS IX HISTORY 

SO blended that Nature might stand up and say, "This 
Was a Man." 

In drawing a mental picture of the old judge one 
thinks of the apostrophe of Hamlet in pointing to the 
portrait of his father — 

See what a grace is seated on his brow, 
Hyperion's curls, the front of Jove himself; 
An eye like Mars, to threaten and command; 
A combination and a form indeed, 
Where every god did seem to set his seal 
To give the world assurance of a man. 



CHAPTER VI 

IRVIN S. COBB AND HIS TEACHERS 
AND OLD SCHOOL DAYS 

PADUCAH'S most illustrious son came to the old News 
office — now the News-Democrat — as a cub reporter 
January 16, 1893, at the age of seventeen. The summer 
previous he drove an ice wagon for the Fowler-Crum- 
baugh Boat Store whose place of business was at the 
northeast corner of First and Broadway, but in the late 
fall of 1892, he, along with Will J. Gilbert, abandoned 
the ice wagon and bethought himself of something more 
lucrative, for something which, it is evident now, he was 
better adapted. Cold, cold was that January 16; but 
it was not cold enough to chill the spirit of the rather 
awkward boy of seventeen who joined the newspaper as 
both cartoonist and reporter, for from that day onward 
the star of Irvin S. Cobb has been in the ascendency nor 
has it reached its perihelion to this day. 

Strange, curious indeed, the comparatively small 
number of Paducahans who know anything more than 
the so-called high spots in the career of the gifted writed 
who has succeeded Mark Twain as the world's greatest 
humorist. Odd is it not, that here in his home town his 
boyhood friends must sometimes jog their memories to 
recall the witty and sensitively keen fellow of way back 
there? Here, where the beautiful Tennessee river 
joins hands with the majestic Ohio was born to Joshua 
C. and Manie Saunders Cobb a son who was destined to 
write the best account of the World War, the popular 
"Old Judge Priest" stories, and such humorous books as 
"One Third Off," "Roughing It De Luxe" and "Speaking 
of Operations — ." The old Dr. Reuben Saunders home- 
stead at 321 South Third street was torn down during 
February of 1914, and was replaced two years later 
with a brick bungalow, the sidewalk in front of which 

79 




IRVIN S. COBB AT THE AGE OF 46 



80 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 81 

bears a marker that reads: "This tablet marks the birth- 
place of Irvin S. Cobb, June 23, 1876." 

At the age of six years and four months he was sent 
to the old Seminary at the northeast corner of Fifth and 
Kentucky Avenue, which was torn down in 1886 and 
replaced by the Longfellow school, which a few years 
ago was remodeled and converted into the Masonic Hall. 
His schooling ceased when he was scarcely sixteen — 
that is, his public and private schooling. Then he 
mounts an ice wagon, giving up the chilly occupation 
after a season. This man whose marvelous literary 
output stamps him as one of the ten greatest writers of 
the present generation — where and when did he hive his 
wisdom, and from or under whom? 

He never saw inside a university, save to lecture 
there. Without a college education, he has made 
millions think, laugh, admire. Considering that alto- 
gether his schooling was less than ten years, the thought 
naturally suggests itself that Irvin S. Cobb was above the 
average school boy in native intelligence, that in point 
of competency and conscientiousness his instructors were 
far and beyond the mediocre. His school days constitute 
a heretofore unwritten chapter, simply because he lacked 
the necessary boldness to speak seriously of himself; are 
almost forgotten because no one has ever taken the time 
to delve into the dimming past to see what treasure it 
does hold. Three of his former teachers are still living 
and these with several of his intimate friends tell the 
long neglected story. It is as though a remote receptacle 
of the brain, unlocked for decades, bursts wide open 
with a spring and snap and pours out the contents, as 
sparkling untarnished jewels might come from some 
ancient treasure chest. Before the crystal mirrors of 
their memory his juvenile days clearly appear. 

HIS FIRST TEACHER 

Irvin S. Cobb's first school teacher was Miss Nannie 
Clark, now Mrs. Joe S. Bondurant, who still makes 
Paducah her home. Miss Clark was only sixteen 
years of age when Irvin was brought to her room in the 



82 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

southwest corner of the old Seminary at Fifth and 
Kentucky Avenue, she having all the children who were 
in the first, second and third grades. It was her initial 
attempt at teaching, in which she engaged until her 
marriage in January, 1887, or for five years. 

The Seminary was a very old building and originally 
a girls' school. During the Civil War it was used as a 
hospital. In 1870 it came into the hands of the School 
Board and was opened up as the Female High School, 
but in 1873 it becamie co-educational. The school con- 
sisted of two brick buildings painted buff and trimmed 
in white, particularly suited to the style of architecture. 

Miss Clark had about ninety pupils in her room, 
and as she taught from the first to and including the 
third grade it happened that Irvin was her pupil for 
three successive years. In stature and robustness, Miss 
Clark avers he compared favorably with the other 
boys, among whom was James C. Utterback of the third 
grade and now president of the City National Bank. 
During his three years in Miss Clark's room, Irvin 
was especially good at recitations and memory work ; 
recitations were a Friday afternoon event. "He was 
always one of my bright pupils and I never failed to give 
him a recitation for Friday," she says in commenting 
upon her recollections of him as a primary and second 
and third grade scholar. 

THEN TO MISS MURRAY 

Promoted from the third grade and Miss Clark's 
room to the fourth, Irvin Cobb was nine years of 
age when he reached Miss Mary Owen Murray's room. 
Miss Murray was a very much beloved woman who is 
remembered most kindly by hundreds of Paducahans 
and former citizens. She began teaching school at 
Lovelaceville when sixteen years of age, and taught 
there for one year, then coming to Paducah, where with 
the exception of one year she taught till the time of her 
death. 

Miss Mary O. Murray, as she was best known to her 
pupils, was the daughter of Judge Frank Murray and 



P A D U C A H A X S IX HISTORY 83 

Mrs. Margaret Murray. She was greatly interested in 
educational work and took a keen delight in instructing 
the students given to her care. Miss Murray taught in 
the Paducah public schools until ten months before 
her death and only then abandoned the profession on 
account of failing health. She died October 8, 1908 and 
is buried on Mercy Avenue in Oak Grove cemetery. A 
headstone three feet wide and four feet high stands at 
the head of the green grave. Aside from the usual 
inscription there are six words cut into the stone that 
tell the story of her life — "She hath done what she 
could." 

One characteristic in particular set young Cobb out 
among the other students — his application to study and 
desire to learn. An earnestness of purpose showed it- 
self in all he did in the classroom under Miss Murray's 
supervision. 

While yet a student in Miss Murray's room and before 
the year ended, razing of the old Seminary was begun 
and classes were distributed among the other schools 
for the remainder of the ternr. Partly through this 
circumstance, Irvin the following year attended the 
private school conducted by Rev. Lewis H. Shuck, D. D., 
which was held only during the mornings of every day 
except Saturday and Sunday. Dr. Shuck conducted his 
private school, made up of eight to ten boys the first 
three years of his ministry here, and both boys and girls 
later, in the study room of the old First Baptist church 
at the southwest corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets; 
the new structure stands on the corner now. The pastor's 
study was in the rear of the red brick church on whose 
lofty tower a clock told the hour of day. 

INFLUENCED BY OLDER FRIENDS 

Dr. Shuck was with the congregation from October 
1882 to October, 1889. He was past middle age during 
his stay in Paducah ; he was tall and slender, and his 
features were delicate. He was highly cultured, one of 
the most brilliantly educated ministers to occupy a 
Paducah pulpit. Incidentally, Holland Coleman of 



84 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Washington Court House, Ohio, went to Dr. Shuck the 
same year Irvin did. 

Not many of the older citizens have forgotten the 
picture of Irvin Cobb in Soule's Drug Store at 313 
Broadway, now occupied by a clothing firm, as the for- 
mer stood by the side of Colonel Joel Shrewsbury and 
listened to him relate his war experiences and impart 
offhand information of which Irvin has probably often 
since made use. Of course it would be almost an insult 
to tell any Paducahan that Irvin Cobb's middle initial 
stands for Shrewsburg. 

Born November 20, 1838, in what was then called 
Kanasha Salines, Va., six miles above Charleston, W. 
Va., Joel Shrewsbury held various clerical positions and 
early engaged in business. With the outbreak of hos- 
tilities between the States he went as a volunteer for the 
Southern cause, attaining the rank of captain at time of 
muster. He had studied law and passed the examinations 
with a high grade, but never practiced. 

COL. SHREWSBURY IMPRESSES HIM. 

Coming to Paducah in the late sixties. Colonel 
Shrewsbury became a fast friend of Joshua Cobb and 
was best man at his wedding in 1872. He was unusually 
well read, and a story often told of him by the late Col. 
Henry E. ("Boss") Thompson was that he would answer 
any question asked him, but if his questioner doubted the 
accuracy of his reply he would promptly seek an 
encyclopedia or dictionary. "But he would never 
answer another question for that person," Colonel 
Thompson said. Colonel Shrewsbury was not related 
to the Cobb family. He contributed to the columns of 
the old News until his death in 1888. He is buried at 
Charleston, W. Va. Probably no person outside of 
Irvin Cobb's immediate family had a greater influence 
over him or left a more lasting impression. 

Colonel Henry E. Thompson also had a part in 
shaping Irvin Cobb's career, though he, like Colonel 
Shrewsbury, was no teacher in the ordinary sense of the 
word, and did not come in direct contact with the embryo 



P A D U C A H A N S IN HISTORY 85 

newspaper man until young Cobb came to the News 
office. 

Colonel Thompson was born at Louisville, Ky., 
August 16, 1851, the son of George and Susan Thompson 
who moved to Paducah in 1853. Educated in Paducah, 
he returned to Louisville at the age of eighteen years 
and learned the trade of printer — a profession, by the 
way, that gave the world Benjamin Franklin, Horace 
Greeley, Brete Harte, Samuel Clemens, Joseph Pulitzer, 
Elbert Hubbard, and other journalists and authors. 

Returning to Paducah, Colonel Thompson assumed 
editorship of the Paducah News and when young Cobb 
joined the staff he received his first training under a 
typical master of the old school of journalism. His 
"Paducah Historically," published in 1910, is a fascinat- 
ing account of the founding and development of the city. 
Colonel Thompson died February 25, 1916, and was 
buried in Oak Grove cemetery. At the time of his 
death he was president of the Paducah Press Club. The 
wealth of beautiful floral tributes and the large number 
of friends accompanying his remains to the cemetery 
the Sunday afternoon he was laid to rest attested the 
esteem in which the veteran editor was held. 

UNDER MISS ADAH BRAZELTON 

Returning to the site of the old Seminary which had 
been replaced with the Longfellow school — it was 
frequently called the Second District school — Irvin 
entered the sixth grade under Miss Adah L. Brazelton. 
Among those in her room at this time was Guy Rollston, 
formerly managing editor of the Paducah Evening Sun 
and for the past sixteen years a member of the editorial 
staff of the New York Evening World. Miss Brazelton, 
who is now principal of the Longfellow school at Twelfth 
and Jackson streets, says Irvin excelled in literature. "He 
read a great deal," she added in speaking of the pleasure 
he derived from this study. He was promoted to the 
seventh grade with a good average. 

In the seventh grade he manifested an even greater 
interest in his studies, so much so that the superintendent 



86 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

of public schools granted permission for Irvin to be 
promoted to the ninth grade, skipping the eighth. It 
was through this unusual procedure that Irvin Cobb 
fortunately found himself in Miss Mary F. Dodson's 
room, which was numbered eight, and located in the 
northwest corner on the second floor. Miss Dodson is 
now Mrs. C. A. Anderson of Magnolia, Miss. She was 
born at New Albany, Ind., the daughter of Milton Cabell 
Dodson and Sarah Hudson Rush, and came to Paducah 
and was graduated from the old Seminary, as were two 
other of Irvin Cobb's teachers — Miss Adah Brazelton and 
Mrs. Joe S. Bondurant. Incidentally, too, all three 
began their teaching careers at the Seminary. Among 
her classmates who are still living in the city are Mrs. 
Thomas E. Boswell, Mrs. Mamie Dallam Powell, Mrs. 
Louis M. Rieke, Sr., and William M. Rieke. 

Miss Dodson taught in the Paducah schools for 
twenty-two years or until her marriage, when she re- 
moved from the city, and among members of the School 
Board during the later years of her teaching were Dr. 
J. T. Reddick, Richard G. Terrell, Col. Ben Weille and 
James C. Utterback. The latter, now president of the 
City National Bank and one of the leading bankers of 
the State, was also in his boyhood days a student under 
Miss Dodson. Mrs. Lillard D. Sanders of the present 
School Board is also a former pupil. 

MISS DODSON NEXT 

Early in September of 1888 Irvin appeared at the 
then new Longfellow school accompanied by his mother, 
who introduced him and made known their desire to have 
him enrolled in the ninth grade or Freshman class. 
Miss Dodson was prepared for his coming by instructions 
from the Paducah school head who had given consent 
to the irregular promotion. Irvin was assigned a seat 
in the last row of desks in the room immediately in 
front of the door by which he entered. The prodigy was 
then twelve years old. 

An acknowledged weakness in mathematics soon be- 
came apparent. Even a review course in arithmetic and 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 87 

a course in algebra could not overcome the handicap 
under which young Cobb labored, simply because he 
lacked the foundation on which to build, through 
failure of eighth grade instruction. His seventh grade 
teacher was aware of his shortcomings in mathematics, 
but this was overlooked owing to his excellence in other 
studies, principally literature. 

On entering the Freshman class Irvin chose the Latin 
course, but soon after asked to take in addition the ninth 
grade course in English literature. This came naturally 
to him. In discussing his fondness for literature the 
now Mrs. Anderson declares he "was always intensely 
interested, quick to grasp the thought and keenly ap- 
preciative of the best in expression." Fortunately for 
Irvin S. Cobb, his ninth grade teacher had the tenth 
grade class the following year. This was on the same 
floor but diagonally across the hall in the southeast 
corner. 

"For Irvin's good and my own peace of mind I had 
early in the previous year given him a desk immediately 
in front of mine," Mrs. Anderson said. And here, in 
the tenth grade, she assigned him a seat in 
about the same position as that he occupied in the ninth. 
"I do not know that Irvin enjoyed this very much but I 
did," Mrs. Anderson says. "He was so well informed, 
so keenly alive as to what was going on in the world, 
so appreciative of things going on in our work that we 
often exchanged remarks sotto voce across my desk." 

SUPERLATIVE IN HISTORY 

It was in the tenth grade where a course of general 
history w^as in order, and here again Irvin was in his 
element. He possessed a wonderful memory and never 
forgot an historical name or event; but the fascinating 
stories of adventure and perils of unknown seas, the 
splendor of ocurts and kings and queens and belted 
knights, the thrilling sound of martial music — he reveled 
in these as though he were witnessing and hearing the 
vast kaleidoscopic panorama of the past. The Senior 
pupils came into this room for their recitation in English 




h4 ^ 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 89 

literature and it is quite truthful to say that young Cobb 
never missed a word that was said and profited quite as 
much from the recitation as many in the class who had 
put more or less study upon it. His intellectual power 
was of the highest order, and his ease of acquisition was 
remarkable. Like Dr. Samuel Johnson, it is said that 
young Cobb never forgot anything he ever saw, heard 
or read. 

In those days there were no organized athletics at. 
the Longfellow school and the playground was com- 
paratively small, but occasionally Irvin Cobb played 
games calling for greater physical exertion than de- 
manded in playing "for keeps." Baseball had not be- 
come the national game, although the boys occasionally 
tossed the sphere during recess and played rival teams 
after school hours on vacant lots in the neighborhood. 

Already at this time, however, Irvin frequently 
sacrificed the recreation period for "Tom Sawyer" and 
"Huckleberry Finn," two books in the school library 
which he particularly enjoyed, just as between the 
curtains at Morton's theater he used to devote himself 
to the printed page. Rieke's store is now located on 
the southeast corner of Fourth and Broadway where the 
old Morton theater stood for many years until destroyed 
by fire. Hunched up, with his head between his 
shoulders, chuckling over his favorites — more than one 
of his former school teachers and quite a number of his 
chums remember Irvin enjoying that sport which King 
Reader alone knows. 

It is interesting to note the prominence attained 
by many who went to Miss Dodson. William F. 
Bradshaw, Jr., president of the Mechanics Trust and 
Savings Bank and a well known attorney, attended 
school to her, as did Will and Harry Gilbert, the latter 
a pianist of exceptional ability whose compositions have 
gained for him national repute. Richard I. Scott, the 
actor, was in her classes, as were George H. Goodman, 
owner of the News-Democrat, and Will E. Cochran of 
Paducah and John H. Cochran of New York City. Louis 
W. Henneberger, George S. DuBois, and former Mayor 



90 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

James P. Smith attended school to Miss Dodson. The 
following were also her pupils, though the list could be 
lengthened to pages: Messrs. and Mesdames David D. 
Koger, John B. Davis; Dr. and Mrs. Will V. Owen; 
Mesdames Ed Rivers, Edward H. Bringhurst, Alben W. 
Barkley, Charles K. Wheeler, Wynn Tully, Ben J. 
Billings, Maide Bradshaw Murray, Will C. Clark; and 
Misses Mary K. Sowell and Ina Rollston. An interest- 
ing fact is that two of the principals in the Paducah 
schools at this time attended school to Miss Dodson — 
Miss Mabel C. Roberts of the McKinley School and Miss 
Catherine Thomas of the Whittier School. Miss Clare 
Winston, teacher of geography at Washington Junior 
High School, was also one of her pupils. 

READ "LIGHT" LITERATURE 

You have read Mr. Cobb's "In Defense of Old Cap 
Collier," but do you know that the barn of which he 
speaks and in whose loft he read of the desperate 
courage and phenomenal success of the Younger 
Brothers; of Rube Burrow's monumental audacity and 
predatory warfare against society; of the outlawry of 
the noted James boys whose very name inspired terror 
in the hearts of peaceable citizens — do you know the 
barn in which he surreptitiously read the unexpurgated 
lucubrations of Harry Hawkeye and A. W. Buel is still 
standing? The roof partly removed by the elements 
and leaning with the years, the old dilapidated structure 
will probably weather a few more seasons back of the 
Lenox apartments between Sixth and Seventh streets on 
the south side of Broadway where the Cobb family lived 
until a few years ago. The barn is eighteen feet high. 
The loft proper measures six feet to the gable. The 
weary structure is twelve by twenty-four feet in size 
over all and now is used as a coalhouse. It is only fair to 
add that in Irvin Cobb's earlier years more worthwhile 
reading matter gave him strength to offset possible 
mental contamination. 

With his departure from the Longfellow school at 
Fifth and Kentucky Avenue in the fall of 1890, Irvin 



P A D U C A H A N S IN HISTORY 91 

Cobb attended the private school for boys and girls in 
Arcadia adjoining the Schmaus home and which with 
enlargements is still standing. This institution was 
conducted by Prof. William A. Cade, who after several 
years' teaching in Paducah returned to his home state, 
Alabama, where he died about fifteen years ago. A 
cultivated gentleman of unusual scholarship, a brilliant 
thinker and well known student of the drama, Professor 
Cade organized a Shakespearean club in the city, a club 
whose life and activities attracted considerable attention 
in western Kentucky. Quiet and unobtrusive, he was 
one of those well educated characters that not one out 
of a thousand rightly values nor fully understands. 

Professor Cade early became attached to young 
Cobb. Though no exceptional partiality was shown the 
"long, lean, lanky boy of awkward actions," the pro- 
fessor recognized in him the radiance of a student above 
average intelligence. He chummed with Irvin Cobb, as 
he chummed with the other boys; he was their 
intimate associate, their friend. On Friday afternoons 
Irvin made it a custom to stay over Saturday at "Gray 
Gabels," a big two-story brick three blocks from the 
school and at that time the home of Dr. and Mrs. W. H. 
Sanders, one of Cobb's schoolfellows under Professor 
Cade. 

CADE IS INSPIRATION 

On bright Saturday mornings Professor Cade would 
accompany the Sanders boys and Cobb and two or three 
more to the Perkins Creek vicinity, where the party 
would spend the day hunting and fishing. But it was 
not a full day unless the boys seated themselves on the 
creek banks and enjoyed the professor's old Southern 
songs and Dixieland memories of which he seemed to 
have an inexhaustible store. As a story teller it is not 
at all improbable that Irvin S. Cobb received much in- 
spiration and benefit from the incidents the middle-aged 
professor related thirty years ago on the banks of 
Perkins Creek. 

In the schoolroom under Professor Cade's tutelage 
young Cobb was especially keen. He excelled in 



92 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

literature and history where his ability to retain facts 
served him well, though here again he stumbled over 
problems in higher mathematics. He could read and 
digest ten pages of history assignment while other 
students read one, for he had even in those days a 
faculty for glancing at a paragraph and selecting the 
verbs, nouns and principal parts of speech and getting 
the thought. He was an exceptionally fast reader; he 
was the fastest reader in Professor Cade's school. 

While at school he rarely engaged in fistic strife. 
One of his classmates vows he "could pacify things with 
his talk," which was an accomplishment, indeed, in 
those days of rough and ready American schoolboys. 

Cobb was a great talker. Even while a ninth grade 
pupil in Miss Dodson's room he exhibited some pro- 
ficiency in and decided generosity of speech ; so much 
so, in fact, that she recalls "the only rule he ever broke 
was the one with regard to talking to those around him." 
It was clear that he was well supplied with ideas and 
wished to make them known. 

He carried the same habit with him to Professor 
Cade's institution. Curiously enough, perhaps to Cobb 
and a few others, the professor would not tolerate 
random talk during the class periods. His favorite 
punishment for this offense was memorizing poetry. 
Looking back to those days, a fellow student of Cobb's 
tells that the prodigy suffered no great infliction from 
this means of censure. "Cobb could read it over two 
or three times and know it," he says. 

COBB UNUSUALLY RETENTIVE 

It is said that Thomas Vincent had the New Testa- 
ment and Psalms by heart, and Henry de Mesmes could 
repeat the whole of Homer; yet the retentive ability of 
these mental giants was no greater in comparison than 
the performance of the boy Cobb at school. 

One one occasion Irvin was seen and heard expostulat- 
ing his esoteric cogitations to a number of students 
intent on hearing what he had to say even though the 
lesson was in progress. He was promptly called to 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 93 

book and given seventy verses of Shakespeare to 
memorize. It was hardly two hours after the other 
pupils were dismissed when Irvin had learned the lines 
by rote. The professor realized need of severer punish- 
ment in Irvin's case and admonished him that in the 
future he would be given Latin to memorize. Professor 
Cade's amazement was even greater when young Cobb 
quoted the Latin verses. It was real punishment to 
Irvin, however, when the good professor made him 
translate it as he gave it from memory ! 

Professor Cade stressed particularly the use of good, 
idomatic English in the school room. He also advocated 
it use outside and during recess, to the extent that the 
scholars were told to note errors among themselves and 
report them latter. It was the custom to get up before 
the class and tell of any grammatical errors or mistakes 
the other had made. 

Irvin and a young fellow named Robert Quarles were 
spoken of as approaching infallibility along this line — 
the same Robert Quarles, it might be interjected, who 
later became superintendent of public instruction for 
Idaho. There was keen rivalry between these two for 
perfection in English honors, and they frequently en- 
gaged in arguments and heated disputes. It was follow- 
ing recess one Monday morning that Irvin rose to his 
feet and said, "Professor, I have two on Robert Quarles." 
Of course everybody knew what that meant. "All 
right, Irvin, what did he say?" asked the thorough 
master. "Robert Quarles said 'possum' of 'o'possum' and 
'coon' for 'raccoon.' " It was unusual indeed to have two 
blunders on one classmate — especially a classmate like 
Quarles. 

VICTIM OF JOKES 

Irvin was living on Broadway where the Lenox 
apartments now stand, and it was a two-mile walk to 
the Arcadia private school. Naturally credulous, he be- 
lieved almost anything told him about the country. 
Having covered the distance to the school more times 
than he could easily enumerate he received what to most 
boys would be sufficient pedestrian exercise. All the 



94 P A D U C A H A X S IX HISTORY 

same, he rarely missed a Saturday in the great outdoors 
with the party of boys who met at "Gray Gables" and 
started for Perkins Creek. 

The favorite hobby among McCracken county boys 
in those days was bird egg collecting. Irvin had 
accumulated an interesting number, but like all the 
young fellows he had a umulative desire for more and 
rarer ones. While the hobby was at its height, some 
boys sought him and displayed what they claimed was 
a buzzard egg, a very rare specimen. Irvin paid "a 
fancy price" for it, getting in return a hen egg spotted 
with ripe blackberries. His comrades often took ad- 
vantage of his good nature, a disposition which it was 
hard to ruffle. 

But perhaps the best joke played on Irvin Cobb was 
a duck hunt which a number of the boys organized and 
maneuvered to his expense account. Whether the season 
had passed or wild ducks in Perkins Creek vicinity re- 
ceived advance notice of the party's coming, is not 
related ; but there were no wild ducks that Saturday in 
proximity to that stream. However, Irvin did not know 
a wild duck from any other, so the boys decided to have 
a little sport. After a while half a dozen tame ducks 
were spied and these were pointed out to Irvin as the 
wildest of the wild. Getting as close as he possibly 
could, he banged away. He shot two, going through all 
the antics of a Zulu in Africa's jungles. 

The boys did not show their inward amusement. 
Rather, they complimented him on his markmanship. 
But they insisted on going home another way than they 
came — a path that led them past the owner's house. 
When he saw what young Cobb had bagged he ap- 
parently made no effort to conceal his anger, and what 
he told him is as fresh in Irvin Cobb's recollections of 
"narrow escapes" as anything that ever happened before 
or since. The juvenile sportsman was obliged to pay the 
infuriated farmer $1.50. The humor of the situation 
appears all the greater when it is known that Irvin 
proudly exhibited the ducks to the farmer, whose anger 
was only heightened by what he considered an attempt 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 95 

to turn the dilemma into an open joke. He scarcely 
considered the remuneration equal to the loss of his prize 
ducks, and Irvin had to do a whole lot of talking to pacify 
the old fellow and convince him of hie misjudgment. 

It would be an injustice to speak of Irvin S. Cobb's 
school days and omit mention of his skill at drawing 
anything that occurred to him. His ability along this 
line first showed itself while he was a student in Miss 
Adah Brazelton's room, and again when he went to Miss 
Dodson. He showed greater proficiency a few years 
later when with Professor Cade. The incongruity of 
some of the sights he pictured gained for him the 
reputation among his schoolfellows as being an artist 
who drew "funny pictures." It was principally as an 
illustrator, a cartoonist, that Irvin S. Cobb came to the 
News office on the 16th of January, 1893. 

Julius Caesar is said to have added two columns of 
figures at the same moment, while Napoleon directed 
three officers at the same time and Lincoln accomplished 
equal feats of mentality; but shortly after he joined the 
News staff Dr. P. H. Stewart among others saw Cobb 
draw a man with the left hand and a woman with the 
right, both at the same time — a feat of simultaneousness 
that called for ambidexterity and certain concentration. 
He could also draw two animals at the same time — a 
horse with the right hand and a goat with the left, as he 
frequently did. 

Irvin Cobb showed aptitude for illustrating his ideas 
and picturing objects as a school boy. He had a natural 
bent for literature and abandoned the prospects of be- 
coming a newspaper cartoonist that he might engage in 
newspaper reporting. Two years after entering the 
News office he was managing editor. He is today the 
author of twenty-four books, a collection of fiction, 
humor and miscellany that stamps him one of the greatest 
writers of the generation. 




HON. JESSE HAMPTON GARDNER, THE FIRST MAYOR 
OF PADUCAH 



CHAPTER VII 

PADUCAH'S MAYORS AND THEIR 
ACHIEVEMENTS 

HON. JESSE HAMPTON GARDNER 

THE Honorable Jesse Hampton Gardner was born in 
Clark county, Kentucky, September 23, 1817, the 
son of David and Hannah Hampton Gardner. His 
parents came from Rowan county, North Carolina, near 
the city of Lexington, in 1882, and later removed to the 
neighborhood of Wadesboro in Calloway county. 

Jesse Hampton Gardner was reared in the Wades- 
boro vicinity under the hardy pioneer influences of those 
days. He very nearly reached manhood before he 
came in constant contact with his schoolteacher, though 
by self-instruction he received a working education that 
served him advantageously in the business ventures he 
so successfully engaged in later. At 22 years of age 
he walked to Paducah during the summer season to 
procure work, an obligation due his former instructor 
prompting him to leave Calloway county for the town of 
which he was later to become the first mayor. 

Mr. Gardner succeeded in obtaining employment 
cutting wood on Owen's Island opposite Paducah, and 
the clearing of that isolated land to this day represents 
his early work and ambitious zeal. The island is girted 
by trees, but the center acreage is used for the 
cultivation of corn. The first trees ever felled there 
were cut down by Mr. Gardner two days after his ar- 
rival in Paducah. 

Within a month after coming to the town he 
was given a position in a hotel, which he held for 
a time, but being healthy and robust and willing to 
use his brain and brawn in other ways where the 
work was more lucrative and chances for advancement 
better, he then became a watchman on the wharfboat, 
and from that promoted to clerk in a boat store nearby. 

97 



98 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

In this way he received his first business acquaintance, 
a knowledge which he broadened with the years until 
he thoroughly mastered its principles. 

Having prospered by honest toil and frugal living, in 
1846 he engaged in the mercantile business for himself, 
and was established in his own store for ten years, or 
until a disastrous blaze destroyed the building and stock. 
The ashes were hardly cold when Mr. Gardner had plans 
drawn for the erection of St. Clair Hall on the site of the 
burned structure, on the east side of South Second street 
between Broadway and Kentucky Avenue. St. Clair 
Hall is frequently mentioned in Irvin S. Cobb's "Old 
Judge Priest" stories and an endless string of memories 
are entwined around the old place, which was torn down 
and replaced by buildings of later construction. 

When Paducah was incorporated as a third class 
city March 10, 1856, the honor of being its first mayor 
was bestowed upon Mr. Gardner. He had previously 
served as a town trustee and his executive ability was 
now recognized and justly rewarded. Broad visioned 
and sensitively keen to anything auguring for the welfare 
of the community, he soon demonstrated the advantages 
to be gained by the change in municipal control. Before 
its adoption Mr. Gardner was an earnest advocate of the 
new franchise making Paducah a third class city, and 
he was responsible in no little degree for its adoption 
by an overwhelming vote of 209 to 35. Paducah became 
a second class city more than forty years later. 

Mr. Gardner's administration was of the progressive 
order. He possessed a business temperament which 
reflected itself in sound city principles and steady ad- 
vancement. During his administration the ground on 
which the News-Democrat now stands was purchased, 
and shortly afterward a two-story brick building was 
erected there and used as the first city hall. His fore- 
sight and wisdom was evident in many ways and he 
exerted no little energy in furthering measures from 
which the city benefited. 

Mr. Gardner resided at the northeast corner of 
Seventh and Jefferson streets during his mayoralty, later 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 99 

removing to the southwest corner of Eleventh and 
Jefferson streets where he lived until his death. 

Mr. Gardner retired from the office of mayor in 
1859, though he subsequently became a member of the 
city council and school board, and at the time of his 
death was treasurer of the latter. In 1861 he was made 
secretary-treasurer of the New Orleans & Ohio Railroad 
and remained in this position for five years. He was one 
of the organizers of the First National Bank when that 
institution was formed in 1865, and from its beginning 
served as a director and was vice president from 1870 
until he died sixteen years later. 

He was married in 1853 to Miss Sarah M. Bourland 
of Lovelaceville, the daughter of Dr. Reese M. Bourland. 
The wedding took place at Lovelaceville. Eight children 
were born to the couple, four of whom are living. Mrs. 
Hal S. Corbett of New York City is a daughter, and Jesse 
Gardner of St. Louis, and Joe Gardner and W. Armour 
Gardner of Paducah are sons. W. Armour Gardner was 
Commissioner of Property in Paducah from November, 
1916, to January 3, 1920. 

In bis sixty-eighth year Jesse Hampton Gardner died 
in Paducah at 9:30 o'clock Monday evening, March 1, 
1886, from heart affection. His demise was marked with 
the usual expressions of sorrows that come with 
the passing of a successful man and useful citizen. His 
life indeed had been one of usefulness to his family, 
community and Commonwealth, and the example he set 
has no doubt been an inspiration to his progeny, all of 
whom have held and are holding prominent positions 
both in Paducah and elsewhere. He preceded his life's 
companion to the grave by thirty years, Mrs. Gardner 
dying November 4, 1916. She was born March 29, 1835. 

Funeral services for Mr. Gardner were held the fol- 
lowing Wednesday afternoon and interment was in Oak 
Grove cemetery, where a twenty-foot shaft stands as a 
sentinel at his last resting place. A slab marks the 
grave and on it is an arch-like design in which the word 
"Father" is carved in relief. The shaft bears the date 
of his birth and death, and also the concluding lines of 



100 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Bryant's "Thanatopsis" slightly changed : "Like one who 
wears the drapery of his couch about him, and lies down 
to pleasant dreams." The Gardner lot is on Ivy Avenue, 
directly across from the Benjamin H. Wisdom lot. 

The first mayor Paducah knew and the first to die, 
it was eminently fitting that his four successors should 
be present when the casket was lowered into its quiet 
resting place. 

HON. JOHN W. SAUNER 

The Honorable John W. Sauner was born in Nash- 
ville, Tenn., May 31, 1824, the son of John and Eliza 
Sauner. He was named for his father, whose trade of 
carpenter he learned after his parents came to Paducah 
in 1836. He was twelve years of age when his parents 
removed to the bustling little Kentucky town and here, 
as a lad, he soon proved by his energy, industry and 
good sense that he was destined to be something more 
than a plain citizen. Twenty-three years later, at the 
age of thirty-five, he became the second mayor of the 
city. 

Mr. Sauner abandoned the carpenter's trade 
when he was selected deputy sheriff of McCracken 
county, an office which he held for seven years 
during which he distinguished himself by successfully 
managing the various affairs and carrying out the many 
duties incumbent upon an officer in that capacity. He 
was then chosen sheriff, and here again he showed 
unusual ability as a public officer and met the require- 
ments of the commission in a way by no means ordinary. 
In the execution of the laws, the serving of judicial writs 
and processes, and the preservation of peace he was as 
fearless and faithful as any man who ever held the 
shrievalty. He also served four years as city marshal. 

Elected in 1859 as the second mayor of Paducah for 
a period of two years, Mr. Sauner conducted the office 
in a manner both creditable to himself and the city, and 
was justly rewarded for his attention to the public service 
by re-election in 1861, He served until 1863 when he 
retired, but in 1867 his name was again placed before 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 101 

the citizens and he was given the office by a handsome 
vote. The efforts he put forth during his third adminis- 
tration w^ere such as to elicit commendation from every 
side, and in 1869 when he aspired to the office for the 
fourth time his candidacy proved equal to re-election. 
He retired from the chief executive office in 1871, having 
served eight years in all as mayor of the city to which 
he came as a barefoot boy. As chief executive he strove 
to continue the city's established policy of steady growth 
and upright conduct, which he carried forward with zeal 
and unerring precision. 

An incident of historic interest occurring during the 
latter part of Mr. Sauner's first administration was the 
printing of General U. S. Grant's proclamation to the 
people of Paducah, advising them of the military course 
he would pursue during his occupancy of the city. 
General Grant had read the notice to a small gathering 
at the southeast corner of First and Broadway, a marker 
now indicating the spot where he stood. However, many 
of the citizens had crossed to the Illinois shore with the 
coming of Union troops, and General Grant requested 
Mr. Sauner to come to his headquarters where he ex- 
plained that the meager audience hearing the proclama- 
tion made it necessary that it be published and given 
the public. Mr. Sauner promptly complied with the 
General's wishes and had a sufficient number printed 
and distributed. A copy of the faded proclamation, 
yellow with the years and torn by handling, is in the 
possession of Rodney C. Davis. 

Mr. Sauner was elected jailer of McCracken county 
in 1882, demonstrating a faithfulness and efficiency 
rarely equalled. He was twice married, his first wife 
to whom he was married in April, 1843, being Miss 
Phoebe E. Forrest. A daughter was born to this couple. 
Miss Nellie G. Sauner, who in marriage became Mrs. 
John T. Zelner. 

During his early residence in Paducah Mr. Sauner 
resided at the northwest corner of Third and Madison 
streets, later removing to 431 South Sixth street where 
he lived for three years. While residing at the latter 



102 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

place he personally superintended the building of a 
residence for himself diagonally across the street at 420 
South Sixth street, an attractive frame house which after 
thirty years exhibits his talent and skill as an artisan. 

Mr. Sauner died at 5:30 o'clock on Thursday after- 
noon, July 17, 1890 in the new home he had completed 
only a short while before. The funeral services were 
held from his residence at 5 o'clock the following Friday 
afternoon. Archdeacon Taylor of the Episcopal church 
conducting the services and burial taking place in Oak 
Grove cemetery. 

The grave is situated on Rest Avenue near the 
western edge of the burial ground, the section that was 
formerly the principal part of Oak Grove. It is south 
of the Atkins monument and at the head a six-foot shaft 
bears chiseling which gives the dates of birth and death. 
The word "Sauner" in four-inch letters a foot from the 
ground can be seen from the roadway and the steps 
leading into the little plot are marked in a similar way. 

HON. JOHN G. FISHER 

The Honorable John G. Fisher was born in Wurttem- 
berg, Germany, October 1, 1816, and at the age of 
eighteen immigrated to America, locating in Philadelphia 
where he learned the trade of baker. He remained in 
the Pennsylvania metropolis for four years and removed 
to Paducah in 1838. Mr. Fisher followed the occupation 
of baker until 1857, when he established a brewery at 
First and Jefferson streets, returning to the bakery 
business after an absence of sixteen years from his first 
trade. His bakery store was located at Third and 
Kentucky Avenue. 

Mr. Fisher's honest interest in public affairs and his 
administrative ability were clearly recognized in his 
election to public offices, for aside from being chosen 
mayor on three occasions his name is found among the 
first board of town trustees and later when Paducah was 
incorporated as a third class city he was a member of the 
city council for four years, discharging the duties at- 
tendant upon that office with credit to himself and un- 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 103 

feigned satisfaction to his constituency. He was also 
city tax collector. 

Becoming a candidate for the highest office within 
the gift of the city, Mr. Fisher was elected mayor in 1863 
for a period of two years, at the end of which he was 
implored to again offer his name. His consent for- 
closed his re-election and he was given the office until 
1867, four years during which the city experienced a 
decided growth and many public improvements. Friends 
succeeded in having Mr. Fisher become a candidate for 
mayor again in 1875 and his continued popularity and 
success as a public official gained for him the office by 
a surprisingly large vote. Election to the mayoralty was 
for two years, as before, making Mr. Fisher's incumbency 
six years in all. 

Mr. Fisher was married in McCracken county in 
1842 to Miss Mary F. Greif, and nine children were born 
of this union. Frank M. Fisher, formerly publisher of 
The Evening Sun and later postmaster, and now presi- 
dent of the Ohio Valley Fire and Marine Insurance 
Company is a son. 

The section of Paducah known as Fisherville was 
named after the city's third mayor as were also the old 
Fisher Gardens which even today hold memories of 
happy events of long ago. This recreational center, 
sometimes called Belleview Garden, was located south 
of what is now Husbands street and extended south to 
Cross Creek, running east from halfway between Sixth 
and Seventh streets and west to a point between Ninth 
and Tenth streets. The park covered nearly ten acres. 
There is nothing to show where it was located, save 
the large brick brewery cellar a hundred feet east of the 
intersection of Ninth and George streets. 

A large dancing pavilion with sawdust floor was but 
one of the attractions at the famous grounds, for the 
small lake at the foot of the hill was used for swimming 
purposes, and tenpins, horseshoe throwing, fastening a 
ring over a hook and other wholesome games requiring 
skill, strength and agility were indulged in by young and 
old alike. Target shooting drew many marksmen to the 



104 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

grounds. The park was reached by buggy or on foot, 
though on special days an omnibus carrying forty 
passengers ran regular trips from First and Broadway. 

The Fourth of July never failed to draw fewer than 
six thousand people from all parts of the county, the 
patriotic addresses at Fisher's Garden on that day ring- 
ing in the ears of survivors of both causes in the Civil 
War and other citizens while the fireworks display the 
same evening was a show of pyrotechny never to be for- 
gotten. On these special occasions extra policemen 
were employed by the management and it was the custom 
to select the city's most troublesome characters, the park 
officials explaining that the disturbing element was thus 
kept employed and the less annoying feared the new 
police not so much through authority they possessed but 
rather because of the reputations they bore, 

Mr. Fisher died at his home, 421 South Fourth street, 
at 5 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, November 17, 1896. 
Injuries received in a fall a few days before precipitated 
the end. The funeral was held from the residence on 
Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock, the Reverend J. C. 
Tully conducting the services. Interment was in Oak 
Grove cemetery and the pallbearers were Charles Reed, 
Joseph H. Johnson, J. R. Smith, M. Bloom, Ferd Hummel, 
Sr., and Captain Jack Lawson. 

Bespeaking the dignity and character of the former 
mayor who sleeps nearby, the Concord granite stone at 
the head of the green grave on Rest Avenue tells who is 
buried there, when he was born and the date when he 
died. It is a massive memorial, seven feet high and 
conspicuously set. 

HON. MEYER WEIL 

The Honorable Meyer Weil was born in Hohenzollern, 
Prussia, June 29, 1830, but in 1847 he immigrated to 
America and came to Smithland, Ky. After residing at 
Smithland for several years he went to Wadesboro and 
then to Mayfield, engaging in the mercantile business 
in the latter towns and accumulating a competency be- 
fore coming to Paducah in 1863. Immediately upon 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 105 

locating here he again entered the mercantile business, 
but soon turned his attention to the tobacco and broker- 
age trade, and for a number of years did a large and 
successful business in this line. 

In 1870 Mr. Weil was elected a member of the city- 
council from the First Ward. His close and careful 
attention to duties and his interest and earnestness in 
financial and public affairs so pleased the people that 
he was requested to become a candidate for mayor. He 
consented and in 1871 was elected for a term of two 
years. He proved a zealous guardian of public interests 
and his judicious administration restored the credit of 
the city, previously at a low ebb. Re-elected in 1873 
for another two years, one term intervened and he was 
again chosen as mayor in 1877. During Mr. Weil's initial 
term the first city hospital was erected in March, 1872. 
The building was situated on South Fifth street beyond 
Husbands street and was built at a cost of $3,317.63. 

The seed he had sown in each previous administra- 
tion showed good fruit and through his efforts probably 
more than any other the city was brought to a financial 
position second to that of no municipality in the State. 
That his administration of affairs was sound, and the 
policy he pursued wise needs no other proof than that 
it was endorsed by his election to the chief executive 
office on four occasions. Following expiration of his 
third term, he was again elected in 1879 for a period of 
two years. 

While a resident of Wadesboro in 1853, Mr. Weil 
was married to a Miss Wilson, but she lived only a year 
after the marriage. He was married the second time 
to Miss Rose Funk in 1860 while residing at Mayfield, 
and three sons and two daughters were born to this 
couple. 

During the State elections in August, 1887, Mr. Weil 
was put forward by the Democratic party, of which he 
was a staunch supporter, and chosen representative in 
a heated contest over three opponents. In 1889 he was 
re-elected, and McCracken county probably never had a 
more faithful and fearless representative in the State 



106 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

capitol. He was always on the alert for anything af- 
fecting his consituency, proving himself an earnest 
advocate for a reduction of unnecessary expenditures 
and limiting State taxes. 

As a member of the Kentucky Legislature Mr. Weil 
distinguished himself by his pithy remarks in impromptu 
speech; he was unusually keen, and his sentences be- 
came celebrated through their forceful content and 
brevity. On one occasion when excitement was running 
high over a bill proposing reduction of the tax rate, the 
opposition reached heights of eloquence in disap- 
proving a change. In an unguarded moment one "high 
tax" orator, in pointing out the danger of a deficit, 
mentioned the name of a State ex-treasurer who appro- 
priated a sum of the public fund to his own use. Instantly 
Mr. Weil was on his feet. "That's just where the trouble 
is," he thundered. "We don't want money in the 
treasury; we want a deficit. Who ever heard of any 
State treasurer running away with a deficit?" This 
clever retort won the House and added to his reputation 
for quick, sharp, pungent speech. 

It was natural that Mr. Weil should oppose long 
sessions of the Legislature ; unnecessary wrangling 
seemed a waste of the people's money to him, and he 
favored adjournment when there was nothing before 
the House. One day during the middle of the session 
of 1887-88, Mr. Weil was in high disgust. Some parlia- 
mentary sharp-shooting was in progress and he fidgeted 
in his seat, looked at the clock and felt the need of 
adjourning. Finally there came a lull. "I object!" he 
shouted at the Speaker from his desk. "To what does 
the gentleman object?" inquired Speaker Johnson from 
the chair; "there is nothing at present before the House." 
To which Mr. Weil retorted: "That's why I object. 
What's the use of a hundred men sitting here like 
dummies with nothing before the House? What are we 
here for, I'd like to know? We'd better go home. This 
is robbery." 

With the conclusion of his last term in the State 
Legislature Mr. Weil returned to Paducah and devoted 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 107 

his time to looking after his property interests, of which 
he had acquired considerable. 

Mr. Weil died in Paducah at 3 o'clock Monday 
morning, April 13, 1891, death resulting from brain 
fever with which he was stricken a week previous to the 
end. In January he suffered an attack of rheumatism 
which gradually became more severe and made death 
a welcome relief. His passing, however, occasioned deep 
sorrow through the city and State, for he was beloved by 
all and bore malice toward none. 

Himself modest and of a retiring disposition, it was 
his especial request that there be no display at the 
funeral services. His wishes were carried out so far as 
it was possible, but at 3 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon 
not more than a tenth of the friends assembled at his 
late residence at 417 North Sixth street could crowd into 
the house to pay slight tribute to a friend and fellow 
citizen. Rev. W. E. Cave, of the First Presbyterian 
Church, spoke feelingly of the life and character of the 
former mayor. The remains were borne to Oak Grove 
cemetery where Reverend Cave offered a prayer and the 
benediction was spoken. The grave faces Mercy Avenue 
and is marked by an imposing memorial. 

The active pallbearers included Judge J. C. Gilbert, 
Captain R. G. Rouse, Major J. H. Ashcraft, M. K. Scott, 
M. Livingston, R. Loeb and Herman Wallerstein. Former 
Mayor D. A. Yeiser, who was then the city's chief execu- 
tive was one of the honorary pallbearers, as were ex- 
Mayors Joseph H. Johnson and Charles Reed. 

Daisy Fitzhugh Ayres, a well known newspaper 
writer formerly of Louisville but now of Washington, 
paid a glowing tribute to Mr. Weil in the Courier- 
Journal. She knew him best as she saw him on her 
visits to the State capitol at Frankfort. "Mr. Weil was 
tall and yet stockily built," she wrote in part. "He never 
sought to make friends, and yet made them by the score. 
He never did anything without appearing to be in deadly 
earnest, and he was just as earnest at heart about it as 
he appeared to be." The tribute made a column in the 
Louisville newspaper and was widely quoted. It was but 



108 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

one of the press references touching upon the life and 
work of a faithful, trustworthy public servant, ever 
cognizant of the confidence reposed in him and ever 
desirous of keeping his official record unstained. That 
he should accomplish much good as a servant of the 
people was only becoming Hon. Meyer Weil, for he was 
an honest advocate of justice and right. 

HON. CHARLES REED 

The Honorable Charles Reed was born in Paducah, 
■November 4, 1842. He was a son of W. H. Reed, one 
of the pioneer contractors in Western Kentucky. Enjoy- 
ing public school advantages until twelve years old, he 
quit the schools at this age and found employment as an 
apprentice in the tobacco trade, at which he was occupied 
until the Civil War when as a youth of nineteen he laid 
aside his daily tasks for the hazordous routine of a 
Confederate soldier. He was first under the command 
of General Lloyd Tilghman but later became a member 
of Forrest's cavalry and participated in the raid on 
Paducah. He fought in the sanguinary battle of Shiloh, 
and in the lessor conflicts at Corinth and Harrisburg. 
At the close of the Civil War he had attained the rank 
of Captain. 

Returning to Paducah he found himself with an en- 
viable record for loyalty but without financial means. 
During his tobacco apprenticeship he showed ability and 
learned the habits of industry, which he utilized in such 
a way that in 1872 he became associated with the firm 
of Hobbs, Morton & Reed in a large woolen manufactur- 
ing plant. He relinquished his connection with the 
woolen mills in 1876 and purchased half interest in the 
Richmond House at First and Broadway, later becoming 
sole proprietor. Still later Mr. Reed took charge of the 
Palmer House, where his ability in caring for the 
transient trade made the hotel one of the leading 
hostelries in the central States. 

Charitable, public-spirited and always active in the 
welfare of his native city, Mr. Reed was chosen as a 
councilman before being called to the office of mayor, to 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 109 

which he was elected for the first time on March 21, 
1881. In this latter and broader capacity he had oppor- 
tunity to display those executive gifts with which he was 
endowed, and the initial term of his mayoralty was 
marked by decided civic advancement on every side. 
Several thoroughfares were opened and fresh gravel 
placed upon the worn streets. The city had outgrown 
the valiant though inadequate bucket brigades and 
voluntary fire departments by many years, and realizing 
the hazards of allowing the city to go on under such 
protection, Mr. Reed was instrumental in establishing 
the first paid fire department in Paducah in 1882. 

In appreciation of his service to the city he was again 
chosen mayor in 1883, the successful administration of 
public affairs as exhibited in his first and second terms 
causing him to be rewarded with the office for the third 
time in March, 1885. His record was so commendatory 
and he had gained so many friends that he was chosen 
for the fourth time in 1887, serving four terms in all or 
eight years. 

In the year 1886 and during Mr, Reed's third admin- 
istration, the cross streets in the city were renamed and 
places of residence and business numbered. Previously 
what is now known as First street was called Main, 
Second street bore the name Market, and Third and 
Fourth streets respectively were from the time of their 
laying out designated Locust and Oak. Fifth street was 
Chestnut, Sixth was Walnut, Seventh was Poplar, Eighth 
was Hickory, and Ninth bore the name of Churchill 
Avenue. Under the direction of Postmaster William C. 
Clark free mail delivery was established July 1, 1886, 
and the carriers receiving routes were John W. Baynham, 
W. P. Hummel, Ed Bonds and Pete Derrington. 

Upon retiring from the mayoralty in 1889 Mr. Reed 
resumed his hotel business and as manager of the Palmer 
House he operated that hotel until two years before his 
death. He was obliged to give up active management 
owing to ill health. 

Shortly after the Civil War, Mr. Reed was married 
to Miss Jessie Wood, the daughter of Captain Elijah 



110 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Wood. Mrs. Edmund P. Noble of West Broadway is the 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed died 
September 14, 1890. 

Hon. Charles Reed was one of the best known citizens 
Paducah ever knew. Coming in contact with the 
traveling public through his hotel connections and al- 
ways laboring for the advancement of the city, he was 
peculiarly fitted for making and retaining friendships. 
For thirty years a man of affairs, graduated in the school 
of experience, he knew how to manage important 
matters and bring out the advantageous points in any 
endeavor. 

Many of the older citizens recall the genial ways 
Mr. Reed had of entertaining friends. One of these was 
his employment of military bands which played the 
familiar airs of the Civil War in front of his hotel at 
First and Broadway. The veterans would assemble and 
enjoy the treats, though the pleasure he himself received 
from the old-time music was not exceeded by that of 
any of his former Confederate comrades. 

Mr. Reed died at the home of his daughter at 10:05 
o'clock Thursday evening, October 28, 1908. Brain 
fever was the cause of death. He had returned from 
Chicago where specialists advised him there was no 
remedy, but was not confined to his bed until a few days 
before the end came. The funeral occurred at 3 o'clock 
Saturday afternoon, Rev. David Cady Wright of Grace 
(Episcopal) Church officiating. The remains were 
placed in a vault slightly to the left of and near the 
entrance in Oak Grove cemetery. The following Con- 
federate veterans were the pallbearers: Dr. J. G. Brooks, 
Captain Harrison Watts, Charles F. Jarrett, General H. 
A. Tyler of Hickman, Judge R. J. Barber and W. H. 
Patterson. The former mayor and ex-Confederate 
veteran was laid away in the uniform he wore during 
the civil conflict. 

The expressions of regret attending the death of Mr. 
Reed were State-wide, and his fine traits met with praise 
in the press. A Paducah newspaper spoke of "the ease 
and ability with which he presided over a body of men" 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 111 

and called him "a born parliamentarian." Another 
spoke of his unostentatious philanthropy and extolled 
that generous spirit that was his through life. A Hen- 
derson (Ky.) newspaper said "he was a man of fine 
business mind and habits, thoroughly posted on the 
governmental affairs of Paducah," and added that he 
was "genial and clever and possessed a heart as big 
as the land in which he lived." 

HON. JOSEPH HENRY JOHNSON 

The Honorable Joseph Henry Johnson was born in 
Pittsburg, Pa., July 8, 1829, the oldest of nine children 
born to William and Chloe Neal Johnson. He was 
educated in the public schools in Pittsburg and at the 
University of Pittsburg, attending the latter while learn- 
ing at intervals the trade of machinist in a large foundry 
and machine shop where his father was superintendent. 
At the age of eighteen he went to St. Louis, Mo., and 
soon became superintendent in a leading machine shop 
there. In this capacity he not only demonstrated skill 
as an expert machinist, but displayed ability as manager 
of such a plant, and also gained experience which served 
him well in later years. A natural mechanical impulse 
made the acquisition of knowledge along these lines 
comparatively easy. 

Coming to Paducah in 1856, Mr. Johnson built the 
Plain City Foundry which he operated until the Civil 
War. He then became interested in steamboats and was 
part or sole owner, and captain, of several well known 
boats plying the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers. 
The last steamboat he owned was the David Watts, a 
Paducah-built craft which carried Government supplies 
throughout the civil conflict. After this steamer was 
destroyed by ice at St. Louis in 1866, Captain Johnson 
returned to his foundry which he successfully managed 
until its destruction by fire in 1868. 

The following year Captain Johnson built the Phoenix 
Foundry on the ruins of the Plain City plant, at Second 
and Tennessee streets. In this he was associated with 
his brother, William Johnson. The Phoenix Foundry 



112 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

later became the Johnson Foundry & Machine Company, 
with Charles S. and Mendal W. Johnson, sons, and J. P. 
Wilson, son-in-law, as associates. This partnership 
continued until he retired from the business in 1889, 
when he was elected the sixth mayor of Paducah for a 
term of two years. 

Captain Johnson's management of public affairs was 
marked by numerous improvements of a lasting 
character. His term of office was purely a business 
one, for he had always evinced an interest in the upbuild- 
ing of the city and encouragement of new factories and 
better terminal facilities. The Nashville, Chattanooga 
& St. Louis Railway, originally the Paducah, Tennessee 
& Alabama Railroad, came to Paducah in 1889, the city 
in January subscribing $100,000 toward the project. He 
expended no small amount of his means in providing this 
new railroad for the city. 

The street railway system was also electrified during 
Captain Johnson's administration and a power plant 
erected on Broadway where the present barns are situ- 
ated. The first electric street cars appeared on the 
Paducah streets July 4, 1889, substituting the old horse- 
drawn cars. 

Captain Johnson assisted in forming the Relief Fire 
Company, one of the two pioneer volunteer fire fighting 
organizations defending the city from disastrous con- 
flagrations until the present paid department was insti- 
tuted in 1882. Captain Johnson not only seconded 
organization of the volunteer department but served as 
a valiant fireman in extinguishing many threatening 
blazes. 

As a representative of his ward in the City Council, 
Captain Johnson advocated a number of remedial 
measures still sustained, and in this capacity achieved a 
record for faithfulness and earnestness of purpose. He 
was a member of the Paducah School Board for twelve 
years, part of the time serving as president. 

The old Johnson Foundry & Machine Company plant 
was destroyed by fire on Tuesday evening, July 15, 1902, 
the blaze originating from an unknown source. It was 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 113 

discovered by the crew on the passing steamer Monie 
Bauer, but the fire had gained such headway that the 
venerable plant was in ruins before an alarm was 
sounded. 

In stature, Captain Johnson was a large man, weigh- 
ing two hundred and forty pounds, and standing five 
feet ten inches in height. He had a florid complexion, 
with the light hair and blue eyes of the Anglo-Saxons. 
God and environment had endowed him with a happy, 
genial disposition and he made friends easily and 
apparently knew almost every body in Paducah, as well 
as being known by them as "Captain Joe". Like most 
physically large people his heart was fasKioned in pro- 
portion to his body, and he was charitable and kind- 
hearted at all times. 

Captain Johnson was married in St. Louis, July 5, 
1851, to Miss Elizabeth A. Yandell, whose father John 
Yandell came to St. Louis from Nashville, Tenn. He 
was connected with the company erecting the first 
telegraphic wires between Nashville and St. Louis, 
choosing the latter city as a place of residence when 
communication was established. Six children were born 
to Captain and Mrs. Johnson, two dying in infancy. The 
oldest son, Charles S. Johnson died in 1912, and Mendal 
W. Johnson died in 1906, while Mrs. Chloe N. Wilson, a 
daughter, died in 1910. J. Y. Johnson of St. Louis is 
a son. Captain Johnson's wife was born October 20, 
1835 and died April 28, 1906. 

Captain Johnson died at his home in Paducah at 3:30 
o'clock Monday morning, December 8, 1902. A heart 
affection and dropsy were the cause of death. He had 
been in ill health for two years at his late residence, the 
two-story house still standing at 401 South Fourth street. 

Funeral services were held the following Tuesday 
afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, the remains being taken to the 
First Christian church where a large crowd has assembled 
to pay their last respects to one who had been loyal to 
his city and generous in his dealings with his fellowmen. 
The pastor. Rev. W. H. Pinkerton made a brief address. 
Captain Johnson had been a member of the First 



114 P A D U C A H A N S IN HISTORY 

Christian church and for twenty years was a leader in 
the choir. 

The city officials attended the obsequies in a body 
to do honor to the departed soul of a man whom they all 
respected. Burial took place in Oak Grove cemeteiy on 
Magnolia Avenue, where a white stone four feet high 
with the name "Johnson"' carved upon it now points the 
spot where the sixth mayor of Paducah sleeps. 

The pallbearers were Mayor D. A. Yeiser. former 
Mayor Charles Reed, Judge D. A. Sanders, T. W. Baird, 
J. V. Greif and Ed Woolfolk. 

HON. DA^TD A. YEISER. SR. 

The Honorable Da\id A. Yeiser. Sr.. was born at 
Danville. Ky.. October 13. 1845. the son of Philip D. and 
Eleanor Hilliard Durham Yeiser. His mother having 
died at Danville, the family removed to Eddyville. Ky. 
He attended the public schools at Eddj-^ille and came to 
Paducah. January 1, 1862. He was destined to become 
the seventh mayor of the city, an honor which was 
bestowed upon him five times and in which capacity he 
served longer than any chief executive who ever held 
the office. 

David A. Yeiser. Sr.. obtained his first employment 
as a clerk in Cope & Neel's store which in the olden days 
stood at 127 Broadway, later becoming a clerk at the 
W. A. Bell drug store at 102 Broadway. Meanwhile, 
the Cope & Xeel store was sold and changed its name to 
Puryear & Newman, and Mr. Yeiser returned to it at the 
earnest solicitation of the proprietors. 

In the Fall of 1866 Mr. Yeiser engaged in the drug 
business for himself, procuring the building at the south- 
west comer of Third and Adams streets. Three years 
later, or in 1869, he removed his stock to the two-story 
brick building at the southwest comer of Third and 
Jackson, a location spoken of in Ir\-in S. Cobb's popular 
''Old Judge Priest" stories. 

While he enjoyed a good business in his first location, 
the latter building just one block south seemed more 
fitted for carrying a full and complete line of drugs, 



? A : : A E A : .^ : x histo et iis 

toilet _ -- ar.i =:n'r^-= ind within a few years he 
became •: : ists in west Kentuci^. 

The denic..-. ^_ ^^ —. . -^othecary exteiMled 

to other parts of the city. rr opened another 

store at t. .'east comer oi rii Roadway. He 

retired fr-._ :„c drag - -— ^;- , - yeais ago, 

pursuing other activftie - . . ts to mofre 

diverse interests - has c : - If. 

Becoming^ a ^^ .-- ,: -- City C - ~r 

represented the Fifth '^ard in a <: : - 
giving freely of his ^ 

prosecution of thos^ - _ : _ 

permanent good. Hi? ; - : - t :es "«"a5 

of such an enviable z.}.'.:- :.}.' : - prevailed 

upon him to offer h: - r cis - ---,„---, 

and in 1891 he was to the 

vote. He seive:. . ~ ' - _ 

oceapying the oii-ec ..__ l.r ^^ _ -.— . --. t.. ;. - 
terms in all or thirteen years, the t~ tzes of charter. 

first to a third class city and in 19u2 ro a second class 
municipality, bringing abo:it the rt^t -.-— -er :f vears 
he was in office. 

One of the principal achievement- j the nrst 

six years of Mr. Yeisers £"' — '-"-~:.~~. - ":"e TTmal 

sewer system construction. . ._ - r . sleeping 

with the progress and growth of the city. The building 
of this sewer system followed by constrnction of ad- 
ditional lines during Mayor Lang's tenn of o±5ce. meant 
improvement of health conditions and better sanitation. 
and contribated in no meager way toward the elimination 
of many diseases incidental to nnheaiihful surroundings. 
The work of sewering the remainder of the city was 
begun August 6. 1922 under Mayor F. W. Katterrohn- 

The number of streets improved daring Mr. Yeiser's 
thirteen years in office would make a long Kst in them.- 
selves- Standing as a memorial to his forea^t, the 
entire stretch of South Third ^reet with more than a 
mile of brick paving is still a serviceable thoioiighfare. 
Broadway from Fifth to Eleventh street was improved 
with bitulithic, as was Kenracky Avenue from First to 



116 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Tenth, and also Jefferson from Second to Eleventh. Many 
of the gravel streets were re-surfaced with fresh gravel, 
while a number of new streets were opened and several 
lengthened. 

An improvement that has grown steadily as the 
corporate limits of the city extended is the method of 
lighting the streets. When Mr. Yeiser entered upon the 
duties of mayor a few lamp-posts topped with gas lamps 
afforded light after dark on the public highways. He 
recognized the need of an electric light plant whose 
magic current would properly brighten the streets, and 
upon retiring from office more than two hundred arc 
lights supplanted the once familiar and antiquated gas 
lamps. 

Another permanent improvement reflecting the 
business spirit of Mr. Yeiser's mayoralty is the block 
stone levee running from First street to the river's edge 
between Jefferson street and Kentucky Avenue. Visitors 
arriving by steamer are instantly impressed by its civic 
beauty, while its endurance under the burden of heavy 
freight traffic is shown by its present stability. The stones 
replaced the gravel grade, being more serviceable and 
adding to the beauty of the river front. 

The present brick market house, representing an 
expenditure of $25,000, was built under Mr. Yeiser's last 
term of office, or during the year 1905. Riverside 
hospital on North Fourth street by Clay was erected 
the same year. 

Three new fire stations were erected under Mr. 
Yeiser's leadership, two small parks were added to the 
city's property and a number of public drinking fountains 
were installed. The Washington Junior High school 
was erected during his incumbency. 

Mr. Yeiser was married in 1871 to Miss Belle Cole of 
Paducah, who died shortly after marriage. He was 
married the second time to Miss Mary E. Coleman of 
Hawesville, Ky., September 25, 1876. Mr. and Mrs. 
Yeiser and family reside at their beautiful country home 
just beyond the city limits in Arcadia. Mr. Yeiser now 
is one of the eight supervisors of McCracken county, an 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 117 

appointive office in the performance of whose duties 
he gives his unqualified attention and ripe judgment. 

There may be men of greater ability and far more 
integrity than Hon. David A. Yeiser, but the mayor's 
office in Paducah never knew^ one. 

HON. JAMES M. LANG 

The Honorable James M. Lang was born in Paducah, 
July 15, 1857, the son of William C. and Martha Muse 
Lang. He was the third child and second son of the 
three boys and two girls born, and was reared on a farm 
in McCracken county. He was educated in the public 
and private schools of Paducah and the county. 

James M. Lang entered politics through various 
activities and committee work for the city and county, 
and when a very young man he served as a member of 
the City Board of Health. In 1887 he was elected a 
member of the Paducah Board of Education and gave 
ten successive years to the furtherance of public school 
work. 

In the first primary election ever held in Paducah to 
nominate city officers. Judge Lang was selected in 1897 
as the Democratic nominee for mayor and proved a 
successful choice at the general election. He then re- 
signed the presidency of and membership in the Board 
of Education, assuming the duties incident to the office 
of mayor December 6, 1897, serving for four years 
through 1901. 

The first sewer system was contracted by Judge 
Lang's immediate predecessor, but the Second District 
sewer was entirely constructed during 1898-1899. The 
first improved streets, notably Broadway, with brick 
from First to Fifth, were constructed during his term and 
paid for out of the city treasury instead of the present 
plan of paying by adjacent property. Cement sidewalks 
were also laid on Broadway alongside the newly paved 
section, the initial tryout of this material for sidewalk 
construction in Paducah. 

A short time before Judge Lang became mayor the 
city extended its boundary limits west, south and north, 



118 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

incorporating West Broadway and the territory known 
as Mechanicsburg and Rowlandtown. Thus it became 
necessary to extend light and water to these sections, 
and insure adequate police and fire protection. Nearly 
all of the suburban gravel streets were constructed 
under ordinances written by Judge Lang as mayor. These 
streets included North Eighth and North Tenth, to the 
city limits, and the western sections of Monroe, Madison 
and Harrison streets as well as North Fourteenth, Hara- 
han Boulevard, and Sixteenth street. Lang Park became 
the first public park within the city lim.its. 

With the aid of Rev. G. W. Ferryman of the First 
Baptist church. Mayor Lang obtained the Carnegie 
Library building for Paducah, and the beautiful site on 
which the structure now stands was selected by 
him and purchased by the city. In courtesy for the 
interest he displayed in procuring the library and making 
the choice selection of its site. Mayor Lang's successor, 
Hon. David A. Yeiser, appointed Mr. Lang secretary- 
treasurer of the Library Building Board. 

At the beginning of Mayor Lang's administration 
the city had for a number of years carried a $20,000 
debt in bonds bearing 5 per cent interest on the cost of 
erecting the City Hall, and this was wholly paid during 
his term, leaving the city property fully paid for. The 
city's outstanding railroad bonds were refunded at a 
lower rate of interest. The present police patrol system 
was adopted and the cornerstone of the building erected 
at that time bears Mayor Lang's name. 

In the construction of the sewerage system the city 
bore the cost of the main sewer from Ninth and Ken- 
tucky Avenue, including manholes and pumping station, 
and at its expense linked the Union Depot and Littleville 
by constructing fills through the almost impassable 
chasms, and hard surfacing the highways. Yet with all 
this the administration succeeded in establishing the 
record of an average tax levy of 91 y^ cents per year for 
city purposes, with all licenses at the lowest figures. 

Retiring from the mayoralty in 1901, Judge Lang for 
twelve years remained active in politics of the com- 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 119 

munity in behalf of the aspirations of his friends and the 
nominees of his party in local, State and National 
campaigns. 

In 1913 Governor James B. McCreary tendered him 
the appointment as county judge to succeed Congress- 
man-elect Alben W. Barkley and at the same time he was 
offered the postmastership of Paducah, a rare combina- 
tion of circumstances and a distinct compliment. He 
accepted the judgship completing Judge Barkley's term, 
and has been elected three terms of four years each to 
succeed himself. 

Judge Lang was married to Miss Georgia McKee of 
Paducah in October, 1882. They reside at 1008 Clay 
street. 

Incidentally, Judge Lang is the only citizen in the 
county who as mayor has been the chief executive of 
Paducah, and as county judge the chief executive of 
McCracken county. 

HON. JAMES P. SMITH 

The Honorable James P. Smith was born in Paducah, 
November 14, 1874, the son of James R. and Mary E. 
Orr Smith. He attended the public schools and was 
graduated from the Paducah High School in the class 
of 1891, and two years later was graduated from the 
Perkins & Herple School of St. Louis, Mo. 

Upon completion of his studies Mr. Smith returned 
to Paducah and became associated in the wholesale 
grocery firm of J. R. Smith & Son, and at the death of 
his father June 3, 1904 assumed management of the 
business which he still controls. His business ability is 
reflected in the manner in which he has managed the 
affairs of the establishment and its steady growth. 

Mr. Smith was elected the ninth mayor of Paducah 
in November, 1907, entering upon the duties of that office 
the following January. His administration was non- 
partisan in character, and this fact added to an inde- 
fatigable zeal for the city's welfare marked the adminis- 
tration as one of the most successful in the history of the 
city. The four years were notable for the harmony that 



120 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

existed in all departments and the number of improve- 
ments realized. The administration relied upon the 
veto on six occasions and in each instance was sustained. 

Among- the outstanding features of Mayor Smith's 
administration was the excellent condition in which the 
streets were maintained, these and other improvements 
and developments being paid for out of the general fund. 
At the same time, old bonds were retired and issuance of 
new certificates was unknown. Murrell Boulevard was 
improved and made one of the most beautiful thorough- 
fares in the city with its spacious lawn in the center and 
smooth roadways on either side. Broadway from Ninth 
street to Eleventh was improved, while streets in all 
parts of the city underwent general repair. 

Improvements along other lines during Mayor Smith's 
administration make a long list, including erection of 
Central Fire Station on Kentucky Avenue and No. 5 Fire 
Station at 1712 Broadway. Mr. Smith incidentally re- 
moving politics from the police and fire departments, and 
increased the wages of city employes. Exclusive of 
equipment, Central Fire Station alone represented an 
expenditure of $19,000. Mr. Smith stressed firmly the 
danger of inadequate fire protection and in 1909, the 
second year of his administration, he had gained his 
point to such an extent that the fire losses for that year 
amounted to only $27,198. 

Remodeling of the City Hall including the addition 
of the third floor and installation of an elevator as well 
as refurnishing the building throughout, was another 
achievement in 1909 which reflects the progressive spirit 
prevailing during Mr. Smith's incumbency. These im- 
provements brought on an expense of $15,284.48, while 
disbursements for the whole of 1909 amounted to 
$263,139.35. The concrete bridge over Island Creek 
was also built and the steel bridge on Broad street 
spanning Cross Creek was erected in answer to a long 
desire for a shorter route from Mechanicsburg to Union 
Station. Previously, it was necessary to come from 
Broad street to Jones in order to reach the passenger 
depot, a path as much out of way in comparison as the 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 121 

circuitous route necessary by sea from New York City to 
San Francisco before construction of the Panama Canal. 

The addition to Oak Grove cemetery at the west of 
the entrance enhanced the value of that burial ground, 
as did the building of the receiving vault and construc- 
tion of the waiting room just outside the gates. Permanent 
improvements were noted at Riverside hospital where 
driveways were placed, a fire escape installed and a 
nurses' home provided. A tuberculosis sanitarium w^as 
established and also a smallpox hospital, the latter on 
the Hinkleville road three miles from the city. Organized 
charity was begun and a visiting nurse was engaged to 
call upon those in need of assistance. 

Riverview Park, between Broadway and Kentucky 
Avenue on the east side of First street was made pleasing 
to the eye, grass being sown and concrete sidewalks run 
around the grass area with the permission of the Illinois 
Central Railroad, which owns the spot. Several miles of 
concrete sidewalks were laid, especially in Mechanics- 
burg, and the block map system for uniform and 
intelligent taxation standard was adopted. The ad- 
ministration succeeded in having the State pass a law 
giving property owners ten years in which to pay for 
street and sidewalk improvements. 

The city stables on South Third street were purchased, 
a combination police and fire box call system was in- 
stalled throughout the city, saloon licenses were raised 
from $150 to $500, and banking arrangements were 
bettered. A floating debt of $40,013.03 was paid in full 
during Mr. Smith's term, while a cash balance of 
approximately $2,500 remained in the general tax fund 
upon his retirement from office. 

Shortly after Mr. Smith entered office the gunboat 
Paducah, the city's namesake, was presented with a 
beautiful $1,500 silver service set, the presentation 
taking place in New Orleans on Friday evening, January 
17, 1908. The gunboat was named in honor of Paducah 
at the instance of Hon. Charles K. Wheeler, then 
congressman from the First District of Kentucky. Miss 
Anna May Yeiser, daughter of Mr. Smith's predecessor 



122 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

Hon. D. A. Yeiser was sponsor, being attended by Mrs. 
Henry Craig Yeiser of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Miss 
Florence Yeiser and Miss Aline Bagby of Paducah. 
Others in the party that met the vessel at New Orleans 
were Mr. JWheeler, who made the presentation address; 
Henry Craig Yeiser of Cincinnati, Col. Urey Woodson of 
Owensboro, Ky., and Miss Frances Gould of Paducah. 

The U. S. S. Paducah was launched October 11, 1904 
at Morris Heights, New Jersey, and was built at a cost 
of $392,698.97. One hundred and seventy-four feet 
long, the gunboat has a 35-foot beam and a draft of 12 
feet, displacing 1,085 tons. The present commanding 
officer is Capt. Guy A. Eaton, U. S. N. R. F. The 
Paducah's complement of personnel when employed in 
the regular navy was nine officers and one hundred and 
fifty-two men. Since the World War the vessel has been 
used in the training of naval reserves. 

Mr. Smith was married to Miss Helen E. Rose at 
Golconda, 111., on November 22, 1899. She is the 
daughter of James A. and M. E. Rose of Springfield, 111. 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have six children: James R., Elizabeth 
R., Mary Orr, Gus T., Charles R., and Richard C. Smith. 
The Smith home, known as *'Bide-a-Wee," is located three 
miles from Paducah on the Lone Oak road. Mr. Smith 
is identified with numerous commercial enterprises and 
is one of the most successful business men in the city. 

HON. THOMAS N. HAZELIP 

The Honorable Thomas N. Hazelip was born at 
Munfordsville, Hart County, Kentucky, April 6, 1877, 
the son of Z, T. and Mary J. Hazelip. His father was a 
Methodist minister and early in life stressed the im- 
portance of proper education and influenced in no small 
measure the career of his son, who was to become the 
tenth mayor of Paducah. 

Thomas N. Hazelip was raised in and educated at the 
public schools of Bowling Green, Ky., and was graduated 
from Ogden College at that place in June, 1898 with 
the degree of B. A. He then studied law in the office 
of Simms & Covington at Bowling Green, and upon 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 



123 



admittance to the bar in November, 1900, practiced the 
profession in that city for a short period. Mr. Hazelip 
then went to Hopkinsville where he practiced law until 
1903, at which time he entered the Internal Revenue 
Service and held the positions of storekeeper, ganger, 
and department collector of internal revenue. 

Mr. Hazelip was married May 25, 1905, to Miss 
Sidney Terrell of Paducah, and since that time has made 
the city his place of residence. While still in the Revenue 
Service he opened law offices in Paducah under the firm 
name of Browning & Hazelip. With the removal of 
David Browning from Paducah, Mr. Hazelip formed a 
law partnership with Oscar Kahn in January, 1912, 
which continues under the name Hazelip & Kahn. 

In November, 1911, Mr. Hazelip was elected mayor, 
serving in that capacity for four years. During the 
administration Don P. Marton served as treasurer, David 
A. Cross judge, L. A. Washington engineer, and Maurice 
Mclntyre clerk. Judge Cross died November 4, 1913 
shortly after his term of office expired, and is buried in 
Oak Grove cemetery. Mr. Marton is now located m 
Los Angeles, Calif. 

During Mr. Hazelip's term of office the first motor- 
driven fire truck was installed— the La France truck 
marked "Hazelip," now in use at the No. 2 station. This 
was the initial move in what has since served to place 
Paducah among the best fire-protected cities in the 
United States. In spite of the kindly sentiment held for 
admirable horses once kept in all of Paducah's fire 
stations, the safety of human beings and of property 
demanded the city to keep pace with its progress and 
growth, and the entire department has since been 

motorized. 

A sewer fund was started from general revenues 
which netted a saving of $60,000. The tax rate was 
reduced to $1.70 per $100. 

Numerous street improvements were made, and 
ordinances were passed for laying bitulithic paving on 
Broadway and Jefferson streets from Ninth to Fountain 
Avenue, a section of the city noted for its beautiful 



124 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

residences and among the most popular promenades and 
thoroughfares in Paducah. 

The high water of 1913, that memorable year in 
which the gauge at the foot of Broadway marked the 
highest stage ever recorded — 54.3 feet at 7 o'clock 
Monday morning, April 7 — did considerable damage to 
many of the gravel streets. In some places holes were 
found and loose gravel washed from the surface, but 
under Mr. Hazelip's administration these streets were 
repaired and placed in excellent condition before his 
term of office expired. These improvements were made 
without an additional tax assessment. The highest 
river stage previously recorded was on February 23, 
1884 when 54.2 was registered. 

While Mr. Hazelip was still in office the Commission 
Form of government was adopted and formally inaugur- 
ated January 1, 1915. With the new order of municipal 
control Frank N. Burns became Commissioner of Safety 
and George C. Wallace assumed control of the Depart- 
ment of Property. Don P. Marton was chosen Com- 
missioner of Finance and the Department of Works head 
was L. A. Washington. 

Retiring from the office of mayor, Mr. Hazelip was 
elected city commissioner in 1917 and served two years 
as Commissioner of Property, and in January, 1920, he 
became city attorney, an office which he held until the 
following June. 

Mr. Hazelip was appointed United States marshal of 
the Western District of Kentucky, February 7, 1922, with 
headquarters in Louisville. In this capacity Mr. Hazelip 
has given the same attention and thoughtful considera- 
tion that marked his administration of the highest office 
in the gift of the Paducah people. 

HON. ERNEST LACKEY 

The Honorable Ernest Lackey was born in Paducah, 
June 8, 1867, the only son of Dr. George W. and Mary J. 
Brian Lackey. He attended the public schools, his first 
teacher being Miss Fannie Bailey at the building which 
formerly stood on South Third street near Elizabeth. 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 125 

His other school teachers included Miss Charlotte Exall, 
Miss May Blossom later Mrs. Charles Rieke, and Miss 
Mary Coleman now Mrs. D. A. Yeiser. 

Early in life Mr. Lackey became a traveling salesman, 
and for twenty years represented Hecht Brothers, 
formerly of Paducah but now of St. Louis. In 1910 he 
engaged in the real estate and insurance business and is 
still a member of the firm Foreman & Lackey which was 
established at that time. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Lackey represented the Fourth 
Ward as a councilman during 1906 and 1907, serving as 
an alderman from 1908 to 1915. He was chosen 
president of the Council Chamber and served in this 
position for one year, and was honored with the 
presidency of the Aldermanic Board for a period of four 
years. 

Elected the eleventh mayor of Paducah in 1915, Mr. 
Lackey entered upon the duties of that office January 
1, 1916, but in June of the same year the Kentucky 
Court of Appeals decided against the election. However, 
Governor Owsley Stanley re-appointed Mr. Lackey to 
serve until the next election, November 4, 1916, and six 
days afterward the successful candidate Hon. Frank N. 
Burns took office. 

While Mr. Lackey's incumbency was less than a 
year, a number of achievements are outstanding and 
speak for the able management of public affairs. The 
plan to relegate the horse-drawn rigs in the fire stations 
was carried to successful completion, motorization of the 
remaining departments being undertaken. A motor car 
was also supplementted for the police patrol which for 
years had been drawn by a team of horses. 

It was during Mr. Lackey's administration that the 
Municipal Hospital on South Second street was 
established, and through the efforts of the Morals 
Commission composed of Mrs. Margaret Ford, Dr. Delia 
Caldwell, Andrew M. Nichols, Rabbi Lee J. Levinger, 
Rev. Clinton S. Quin and Commissioner Sanders E. Clay 
the work of renovating Paducah morally was carried 
forward with an earnest spirit behind it. Mr. Lackey 



126 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

was the promoter of the hospital or home, and Mrs. Ford, 
a trained worker, was placed in charge. The project 
proved more than an experiment, for it afforded pro- 
tection and opportunity for many unfortunates. 

The administration let the contract for paving 
Broadway from First to Fifth streets with the resilient 
wood blocks which lighten traffic on that busy thorough- 
fare and eliminate much of the noise usually attending 
constant passing of hundreds of trucks. While bitulithic 
paving of Jefferson streets from Ninth to Seventeenth 
was not begun until 1917, the contract for this work 
was let under Mr. Lackey's administration. Concrete 
sidewalk improvements were made on several streets 
before Mr. Lackey retired from office January 10, 1916. 

Mr. Lackey was married September 10, 1889 to Miss 
Carrie Kreutzer of Paducah. They have six sons: Brian, 
W. Herndon, E. Ezell, Pierce E., Hecht S., W. Prewitt, 
and F. Ernest Lackey, Jr. Mr, and Mrs. Lackey reside 
at 2103 Broadway. 

HON. FRANK N. BURNS 

The Honorable Frank N. Burns was born at Clifton, 
Tenn., August 11, 1879, the son of Frank N. Burns and 
Sallie Harbour Burns. His mother was a sister to E. B. 
Harbour, formerly of Paducah but now of Los Angeles, 
California. 

Coming to Paducah in 1890 at the age of eleven years, 
upon the death of his parents Frank N. Burns resided at 
the Harbour home. He attended the Paducah public 
schools and then went to the Martins Mill Academy of 
Tennessee, going to Valparaiso University from there 
and receiving the degrees of B. S., A. B. and L. L. B. at 
the latter institution. He also took the entire course of 
higher mathematics at Valparaiso with a view to 
teaching this subject. 

After teaching school a year in northern Indiana, 
Mr. Burns entered the University of Michigan where he 
continued the study of law for three years, having had 
two years of this course at Valparaiso. The legal 
profession appealed more to his nature, and upon 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 127 

graduation he located in Chicago and practiced law for 
five years with one of the leading firms in the Central 
West. He returned to Paducah in 1908, 

Mr. Burns was chosen city alderman during 1912, 
1913 and 1914, and in the latter year under a change of 
municipal control was elected the first Commmissioner 
of Safety of Paducah. He entered upon the duties of 
this office January 1, 1915 along with Commissioners 
George C. Wallace of Property, Don P. Marton of 
Finance, and L. A. Washington of Works. 

In 1916 Mr. Burns was elected the twelfth mayor of 
Paducah, and assuming the office he served until the 
last year of his four year term when he resigned to accept 
the office of railroad commissioner for the State of 
Kentucky. He was elected railroad commissioner in 
November, 1919. 

During his administration as mayor Mr. Burns suc- 
ceeded in establishing an incineration plant, a nurses' 
home and a contagion hospital for children. Latest 
equipment for a bacteriological laboratory was 
purchased by the city for Riverside hospital. A concrete 
speaker's stand or pavilion was erected just inside the 
entrance at Oak Grove cemetery, the need for such a 
shelter having been recognized for some time. 

The Tennessee street trunk line sewer was con- 
structed during Mr. Burns' term of office, and Broadway 
and Jefferson from Eleventh street to Fountain Avenue 
were paved with bitulithic in 1917. Gravel streets 
underwent a general overhauling, new and compact 
material being placed upon many of the thoroughfares 
where the traffic seemed heaviest. 

During the World War the city maintained municipal 
coal and milk depots, and the City Hall becam'e a 
veritable clearing house for reports of Government 
agencies and similar bureaus. 

Two notable improvements in the city during Mr. 
Burns' term of office occurred in 1919, when the Illinois 
Central railroad built its commodious roundhouse at a 
cost of $250,000 and erected its handsome and modernly 
furnished hospital. The Illinois Central hospital, located 



128 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

at Fifteenth and Broadway, is a fire-proof structure 
representing an expenditure of $165,000. 

Mr, Burns was married June 26, 1907 to Miss Natalie 
E. Fischer of Ann Arbor, Mich. They have one son, 
Frank N. Burns, Jr., born March 17, 1915. They reside 
at 507 North Seventh street. 

Besides performing the duties of State railroad 
commissioner, Mr. Burns is a member of the law firm of 
Reed & Burns and is associated in other businesses in 
Paducah. He is recognized as one of the ablest lawyers 
in the city, logical and keen, and is well known through 
Kentucky. 

HON. F. W. KATTERJOHN 

The Honorable F, W, Katterjohn was born in Louis- 
ville, Ky., November 13, 1860, the son of Frederick 
William and Christina Maria Reitman Katterjohn, He 
was the third child in a family of six sons and one 
daughter, and was named after his father, 

F. W, Katterjohn attended the public schools in 
Louisville until he was ten years old, when the family 
removed to Paducah on Good Friday, April 9, 1871. He 
attended the schools in Paducah for two years, first at 
the old two-story frame house that stood at the northeast 
corner of Fourth and Ohio streets across from the present 
Lee school, and then at what was known as the Kentucky 
University where the Washington Junior High school 
now stands. Thomas I. Barry of Paducah and the late 
Lawrence B. Pierce of St. Louis, attended the old Fourth 
street school at the same time Mr. Katterjohn was a 
pupil there. 

Prof. H. F. Lyon conducted the school at Fourth and 
Ohio streets until it was abandoned in 1872 when he 
became a teacher at the Kentucky University, and 
through this circumstance incidentally taught Mr, 
Katterjohn both years that he spent in the Paducah 
schools. 

At the age of twelve, F, W, Katterjohn began work 
at his father's brick yard and assisted in hauling brick 
for the construction of the Lee school building in 1874, 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 129 

Later learning the trade of bricklayer, at the age of 
twenty-one he was a general contractor, a business 
which he followed until he became personal adviser to 
Chief Engineer John F. Wallace in the construction of 
the Panama Canal. He sailed for Panama, November 
9, 1904, returning to Paducah in May of the following 
year. 

As a building contractor, F. W. Katterjohn built 
many of the most attractive homes and business houses 
in the city. Under contract Mr. Katterjohn built 
the Paducah Water Company plant in 1885, and started 
construction of the Palmer House on May 1, 1887. He 
built the old Longfellow school, later known as the Three 
Links Building and now the Masonic Building in the 
same Spring. He also had the contract for the First 
Presbyterian Church at the northeast corner of Seventh 
and Jefferson streets which he erected in 1887. 

The B. Weille & Son building was erected by Mr. 
Katterjohn in 1893 and in the same year he erected the 
Temple Israel synagogue at the southwest corner of 
Seventh and Broadway. The Rhodes-Burford store was 
built under his supervision in 1895, and the Kentucky 
Theatre building in 1900 and in the same year he 
erected the Paducah Brewery Company building at the 
northeast corner of Tenth and Monroe streets, now oc- 
cupied by the City Consumers Company. Mr. Katterjohn 
also had the contracts for building the Smith & Scott 
Tobacco Company building and the addition to the 
Illinois Central Railroad shops. When the street rail- 
way was electrified, Mr. Katterjohn was engaged to 
build the power plant and install the machinery in the 
structure which stood on Broadway where the car barns 
are now located. 

Mr. Katterjohn was the organizer of the Katterjohn 
Construction Company of which he was president, and 
promoted the Greenville Construction Company until he 
retired from active participation in both enterprises, 
August 7, 1922. 

Becoming tax collector of Paducah in 1894, Mr. 
Katterjohn performed the duties of that office for two 



m) PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

years. Previously, in 1887 and 1888, he represented the 
Fourth Ward in the School Board, carefully guarding the 
interests of taxpayers in the matter of public schools. 

In the November election of 1919, Mr. Katterjohn 
was elected mayor of Paducah to succeed Hon. Frank N. 
Burns, taking the office on January 5, 1920. His 
entrance into the chief executive's office was dis- 
tinguished by the business spirit he brought with him, 
and while all the fruits of his administration cannot yet 
be counted he has accomplished several creditable and 
praiseworthy achievements. 

The paving with concrete of South Fifth street from 
Kentucky Avenue to Clark street was followed by 
similar improvements on South Fourth from Kentucky 
Avenue to Washington, and Washington from Third to 
Fifth streets. The same hard surface material was used 
in paving North Third, North Fourth and North Fifth 
streets from Jefferson to Monroe, and Monroe from 
Second to Fifth streets. These street improvements add 
dignity to the sections immediately surrounding the 
business district. 

But far and away the crowning achievement of Mr. 
Katterjohn's mayoralty lies in his indefatigale efforts 
in behalf of new sewer construction, for he is the father 
of the movement to girdle the entire city with sanitary 
improvements. The completion of this task will mean 
realization of the greatest project ever undertaken by 
the City of Paducah. 

The $600,000 sewer bond issue was voted upon 
November 8, 1921, the vote in favor being 2,854 as 
against 1,182 opposed. A two-thirds majority was nec- 
cessary. An ordinance proposing the plan was introduced 
by Mayor Katterjohn, and active work was begun 
August 6, 1922 at the foot of Flournoy street. Com- 
missioner of Public Works Henry A. Pulliam is chief 
engineer. 

Mr. Pulliam, who is only twenty-eight years of 
age, is an experienced engineer with several years 
service abroad. He was elected Commissioner of Public 
Works at the November, 1921, election, and at the same 



PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY VM 

time R. Wynn Tully was re-elected Commissioner of 
Finance, Claude C. Pace was chosen Commissioner of 
Safety and L. A. Washington was tendered the office of 
Commissioner of Property. Mayor Katterjohn is at the 
head of the Department of Public Affairs. 

The erection of Augusta Tilghman High school and 
the new Lincoln (colored) High school can be ascribed 
to the period of Mr. Katterjohn's mayoralty, as can also 
the handsome $65,000 Immanuel Baptist church on the 
east side of Murrell Boulevard between Clark and 
Adams streets, which was formally opened for worship 
February 12, 1921, and the new St. Matthew's Lutheran 
church at the southeast corner of Fifth and Jackson 
streets, dedicated October 16, 1921. The First Church 
of Christ (Scientist) at the northeast corner of Fourteenth 
and Broadway was opened for services April 16, 1922, 
and ground was broken May 21, 1922 for the new $35,000 
Murrell Boulevard Christian Church at the northeast 
corner of Murrell Boulevard and Ohio street. 

Mr. Katterjohn was married to Miss Elizabeth Rock 
of Paducah, November 5, 1884. They have one son, W. 
Roy Katterjohn, and two grandchildren, Frederick 
William Katterjohn and Wilmouth Katterjohn. Mr. and 
Mrs. F. W. Katterjohn have resided at 327 South Fifth 
street since 1885, building the present home in 1900. Mr. 
Katterjohn has known personally each of the twelve 
mayors who preceded him in office. The first six mayors 
have passed to their eternal reward. 

A glance at the commercial life and growth of 
Paducah mirrors marked activity in this respect. 
Caron's City Directory issued in August, 1922, places the 
population at 30,986, a substantial growth over the 
Government census of 1920 which gave the number of 
inhabitants at 24,735. The latter bureau gave the 
number of dwellings at 5,797, an increase of 537 in ten 
years. The capital invested in manufactories amounted 
to $7,260,000 and the number of persons employed at 
the seventy-eight industries was 5,253. 

Bank deposits in 1910 were $3,168,600, while in 1920 
the figures had mounted to $8,786,345. The clearings 



132 PADUCAHANS IN HISTORY 

of these institutions were $10,789,517 in 1910, while a 
decade later these figures reached $78,187,379. In 1921 
the assessed valuation of real estate in Paducah was 
$15,670,905. More than ninety carloads of strawberries 
were shipped from the Paducah market during the 
season of 1922, and the bumper peach crop easily 
surpassed that of any other year. 

Paducah, that gem in the diadem of American cities, 
is experiencing the greatest prosperity since its founding 
more than a hundred years ago, and the city is indeed 
fortunate at this time in having at the head of its 
government an eminently successful business man. 



